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U.    5.    DEPARTMENT    OF   AGRICULTURE, 

BUREAU  OF  ANIMAL  INDUSTRY— Bulletin  No.  48. 

D.   E.  SALMON,    D.  V.  M.,  Chief  of  Bureau. 


XHK 


ANIMAL  INDUSTRY  OF  ARGENTINA. 


FRANK    W.    KICKNE^LL, 


WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT   PRINTING    OFFICE. 

1903. 


ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  IJUREAU  OF  ANIMAL  INDUSTRY. 


■  Chief:  D.  E.  Salmon,  D.  V.  M. 

Analxtant  chief:  A.  D.  Melvin,  D.  V.  S. 

Chief  clerk:  S.  R.  BiiRcii. 

Dairy  dicisi(/n:  Henky  E.  Alvoru,  C.  E.,  chief;  IIarky  Haywahd,  .M.  y.,  at-sit-tant 
cliief. 

hispection  division:  A.  M.  Farrington,  B.  S.,  D.  V.  M.,  chief;  E.  B.  Jones,  LL.  M., 
M.  1).,  ass^istant  chief. 

Mii^cellaveou!^  division:  Richard  W.  Hickman,  Ph.  (J.,  V.  M.  I).,  chief. 

Kdilor:  George  Fayette  Thompson,  M.  S. 

Artid:  W.  S.  D.  Haines. 

Expert  in  animal  hmbdndrtj:  (jeorcr  M.  Rommki,,  I'>.  S.  A. 

Librarian;  Beatrice  C.  Oberly. 

lahokatokiem. 

Bioclwmic  ditisio^i:  E.  A.  he  8ch\veinitz,  Ph.  D.,  M.  1).,  chief;  Marion  Dorset, 
M.  1).,  assistant  chief. 

Pathological  division:  John  R.  Mohler,  A.  M.,  V.  M.  D.,  chief;  Henry  J.  Wash- 
lUKN,  D.  V.  S.,  acting  assi.stant  chief. 

Zoological  division:  Ou.  Wardell  Stiles,«  M.  S.,  A.  M.,  Ph.  D.,  consulting  zoologist 
in  charge. 

experiment  station. 
/SujjerinicH'Ji  III:   V..  ( '.  S(  iikoeder,  M.  D.  V.;  expert  assistant,  W.  K.  Corrcv. 

INSPECTORS  IN  CHARGE. 


Dr.  F.  \V.  Ainsworth,  Eant  Liberty  Stock  Yiirds, 
Pittslnirg,  Pa. 

Dr.  M.  ().  Anderson,  care  Geo.  A.  Hormel  &  Co., 
Austin,  Minn. 

Dr.  Don  C-  Ayer,  Post-Offlee  Building,  South 
Omal)!i,y'Nebr. 

Dr.  .John  A.  Hell,  Wiitertown,  N.  Y. 

Dr.  G.  S.  Baker,  6tli  and  Townsend  sts.,  San  Fran- 
cisco, Cal. 

Dr.  L.  R.  Baker,  care  Union  Sttjck  Yai"d.s,  Cincin- 
nati, Oivio. 

Dr.  Boyd  Baldwin,  care  Ctidahv  Bros.,  Cudahy, 
Wis. 

Dr.  A.  E.  Behnke,  room  432,  Federal  Building, 
Milwaukee,  Wis. 

Dr.  .S.  K.  Bennett,  147  Milk  St.,  Boston,  Ma.'sg. 

Dr.  Fred  BraKinton,  care  Continental  Packing  Co., 
Bloomingtoii,  III. 

l)r.  J.  ,1.  Brougham,  care  Missouri  Stock  Yards, 
.St.  Louis,  .Mo. 

Dr.  G.  W.  Butler,  care  Drummond  Bros.,  Eau 
("laire,  Wis. 

Dr.  Richard  .1.  Blanche,  care  Brittain  &  Co.,  Mar- 
shal Itown,  Iowa. 

Dr.  W.  S.  Cass,  care  West  Lincoln  Stock  Yard.s, 
Lincoln,  Nebr. 

Dr.  .1.  B.  Clancy,  National  Stock  Yard.x,  111. 

Dr.  Charles  Covvie,  Ogdcn.sburg,  N.  Y. 

Dr.  David  CiniuniTiLv  'M-A  LMi.i-er  avenue.  Port 
Huron,  Mich 


Dr.  Robert  Darling,  care  (Mias.  S.  Hardy,  San 
Diego,  (;al. 

Dr.  ,1.  F.  Deadnian,  Sault  Ste.  Marie,  Mich. 

Mr.  All)ert  Dean,  ro<jni  328,  Stock  Yard  Station, 
Kansas  City,  Kans. 

Dr.  F.  L.  De  \Volf,  care  Chas.  Wolff  Packing  Co., 
Topeka,  Kans. 

Dr.  Geo.  Ditewig,  care  Tri-City  Packing  Co.,  Dav- 
enport, Iowa. 

Dr.  E.  P.  Dowd,  care  White,  Pevey  &  Dexter  Co., 
Worcester,  Ma.ss. 

Dr.  O.  E.  Dyson,  316  Exchange  Building,  Union 
Stock  Yards,  Chicago,  111. 

Dr.  Geo.  C.  Faville,  Bo.x  796,  Norfolk,  Va. 

Dr.  N.  K.  Fegley,  care  SiHjrry  &  Barnes,  New 
Haven,  Conn. 

Dr.  John  Foibes,  Exchange  Building,  South  St. 
Joseph,  Mo. 

Dr.  T.  A.  Geddes,  care  U.  8;  Consul,  Ijondon,  Eng- 
land. 

Dr.  H.  H.  (Jcorgo,  .507  John.son  st.,  Ijouisvillc,  Ky. 

Dr.  W.  H.  Gibbs,  care  Morton-Gregson  Co.,  Ne- 
braska City,  Nebr. 

Dr.  L.  K.  Green,  care  Hammond,  Standish  &  Co., 
Detroit,  Mich. 

Dr.  H.  A.  Hedrick,  2ir)St.  Paul  st..  Btiltimore,  Md. 

Dr.  O.  B.  Hess,  care  Frye-Bruhn  tJonipany,  Seattle, 
Wash. 

Mr.  G.  S.  Hickox,  P.  ().  box  lll.'S,  Salt  Lake  Ci'tv, 
Utah. 


(Continued  on  third  page  of  cover.) 


"Transferred,  August  Ifi,  1902,  to  U.  S.  Public  Health  and  Marine-Hospital  Service,  as  Chief  of 
Division  of  Z'Hilogy,  but  remains  also  in  temponiry  charge  of  Z<H:)l()gical  Division,  Hiireini  of  .Animal 
liidu^lrv. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/animalindustryofOObickiala 


Bulletin  No.  48.  B.  A.  I. 


Frontispiece. 


U.   S.    DEPARTMENT    OF   AGRICULTURE. 

BUREAU  OF  ANIMAL  INDUSTRY— Bulletin  No.  48. 

D.    E.   SALMON,    D.  V.  M.,  Chief  of  Bureau. 


THE 


ANIMAL  INDUSTRY  OF  ARGENTINA. 


KRANK    W.    BICKNELL, 

special    A.gei-it    tiritl    A-grlcuilturQl    E^cplorer. 


WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT   PRINTING   OFFICE. 

1903. 


LETriiR  OF  TRANSMriTAL. 


U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture, 

Bureau  of  Animal  Industry, 
Washington,  D.  C,  July  8,  1903. 
Sir:    I  have  the  honor  to  transmit  herewith  the  manuscript  of  a 
paper  entitled  ''The  Animal  Industry  of  Aroentina,"  by  Frank  W. 
Bicknell,  special  agent  and  agricultural  explorer. 

Mr.  Bicknell  shows  the  status  of  the  animal  industry'  of  Argentina 
at  this  time,  and  dwells  upon  the  prospects  of  that  Republic  as  a  mar- 
ket for  purebred  animals  from  the  United  States.  Some  excellent 
photographs  of  the  cattle,  sheep,  and  horses  now  being  produced  in 
that  countiy  accompany  the  paper. 

The  subject-matter  of  this  paper  is  such  as  will  go  far  toward 
answering  the  man}'  requests  that  come  to  the  Department  of  Agri- 
culture for  information  regarding  the  animal  industry  of  Argentina, 
and  I  recommend  that  it  be  published  as  a  bulletin  of  the  Bureau  of 
Animal  Industiy  series. 
Respectfull}', 

D.  E.  Salmon,  Chief  of  Bureau. 
Hon.  flAMES  Wilson,  Secretary. 


CONTENTS. 


Page. 

Introduction 7 

The  Argentine  Rural  Society 8 

The  great  annual  .stock  show 12 

The  annual  f^ales  of  ])ree<ling  stock 14 

The  herdbooks  and  flockbooks  of  Argentina 21 

What  Argentine  l)reeders  want 23 

Preference  for  Shorthorns 24 

Demand  for  cows 25 

Other  breeds 26 

Profits  of  importers 27 

High  prices  for  ordinary  animals 29 

Fat-stock  and  horse  show 30 

Kind  of  cattle  for  export  and  home  consumption 31 

Argentine  steers  are  grass  f)r  alfalfa  fed 32 

The  manufacture  of  tasajo  declining 33 

Meat  supply  of  Buenos  Aires 33 

Shortage  of  cows  in  Argentina ^ 35 

Sales  of  horses  in  Argentina 36 

Sales  of  sheep  in  Argentina 37 

Animal  sanitary  regulations 37 

Conditions  and  cost  of  admission  of  breeding  stock 41 

The  dairy  industry 43 

Selection  of  cows  for  milking  qualities 47 

Test  of  dairy  cows ■ 48 

Sacrifice  of  cows 50 

Statistics  of  production  and  capacity 50 

Cheese  business  not  satisfactory 52 

Experiments  in  comparison  of  breeds 53 

How  cows  are  fed 54 

Carrying  capacity  of  pastures 55 

Advice  of  an  Argentine  packer 56 

J^ive-stock  census 57 

Exportation  of  live  stock 58 

Health  of  live  stock 59 

The  sheep  business 61 

The  evolution  of  the  sheep-breedmg  industry  in  Agentina 64 

Argentine  resources  shown  l)y  exports 68 

Principal  exports  for  five  years 70 

Exports  in  detail 70 

Distribution  of  exports 71 

3 


ILLUSTRATIONS, 


Page. 

Frontispiece.     In  Argentina. 

Plate  I.  Lord  AVenlock,  first-prize  3^-year-old  Shorthorn  bull 8 

II.  Ladas  6th,  first-prize  2^-year-old  Shorthorn  bull 8 

III.  Farrier  Bridekirke,  first-prize  2-year-old  Shorthorn  bull 16 

IV.  Calomel  16,  first-prize  3-year-old  Shorthorn  cow 16 

V.  Grandison  42,  prize  champion  Hereford,  Sj^  years  old 16 

VI.  First-prize  Clydesdale  stallion 32 

VII.  First-prize  Shire  stallion 32 

VIII.  Docil,  Percheron  stallion,  3 J  years  old 32 

IX.  DaWet,  first-prize  Holstein  bull,  22  months  old 48 

X.  Best  cow  of  Flemish  group,  winning  championship  in  dairy  test 48 

XI.  Grade  Shorthorn  bulls,  2 J  years  old 56 

XII.  Holstein  cows  and  calves 56 

XIII.  Fig.  1,  first-prize  yearling  Lincoln  sheep;  fig.  2,  first-prize  Hani]>- 

shire  Down  rain (54 

XIV.  Second-prize  Rambonillets,  18  months  old 64 

XV^.   Hampshire  Down  rams,  3  months  old 64 

4 


ARGENTINE  TERMS  AND  MEASURES  USED. 

Money. — Unless  otherwise  stated,  all  expressions  of  value  used  herein  refer  to 
Argentine  paper  money,  which  will  cost  the  foreigner  to-day  (May,  1903)  44  cents  of 
United  States  money  for  the  peso  (dollar).  The  valuations  in  the  custom-house,  in 
which  the  amounts  of  imports  and  exports  are  stated,  are  in  Argentine  gold,  worth 
96.5  United  States  money  for  the  peso. 

Metric  ton,  used  in  the  customs  statistics. — 2,204.62  pounds. 

Kilo.— 2.2046  pounds. 

Liter. — 1.0567  quarts,  or  0.264  gallon. 

Hectoliter. — 2.837  bushels,  dry  measure,  or  26.417  gallons,  liquid  measure. 

Hectare  of  land. — 2.47  acres. 

Square  of  land. — 4.17  acres. 

League  of  land. — 6,672  acres. 

Meter. — 39.37  inches. 

Kilometer.— 0.621  mile. 

Estancia. — A  stock  farm,  generally  very  large,  where  breeding  steers  and  wethers 
for  market,  and  sometimes  also  breeding  purebred  animals  for  sale  as  breeding  ani- 
mals, are  carried  on. 

Estanciero. — The  man  who  owns  an  estancia. 

Caljana. — An  establishment  where  breeding  animals  are  raised  for  sale. 

Cabanero. — The  man  who  owns  a  cabana. 

Camp. — The  term  generally  applied  to  the  country,  tlie  rural  part,  derived,  no 
doubt,  from  the  Spanish  word  "campo,"  meaning  the  country.  People  in  town  say 
"  I  am  going  to  the  camp,"  instead  of  saying  "  I  am  going  to  the  country." 

Inside  camp. — The  better  and  more  cultivated  and  favorably  situated  land  and 
pastures;  usually  applied  to  the  better  portions  of  the  province  of  Buenos  Aires. 

Outside  camp. — The  more  distant,  less  fertile,  dryer  and  less  valuable  part  of  the 
grazing  country. 

Mestizo. — Graded  animals — partly  pure-blooded,  of  any  sort. 

Novillos.  — Steers. 

Emharcadero. — The  yards  and  sheds  in.  the  port  of  Buenos  Aires  where  imported 
animals  are  received  and  where  export  animals  are  inspected  and  dispatched  on  board 
ship. 

Frigorifico.  — Frozen-meat  establishment. 

Jjecheria. — Either  a  milk  depot  in  the  city  for  the  sale  of  milk  at  retail  or  the 
establishment  of  a  milk  dealer  in  the  country. 

Pucliero. — The  national  dish,  especially  for  tlio  poorer  classes.  It  consists  gener- 
ally of  ]>eef,  potatoes,  and  whatever  other  vegetables  may  be  had.  It  is  all  boiled 
together  in  one  dish  and  is  served  in  the  same  manner,  requiring  few  dishes.  Some 
kind  of  squash  is  a  favorite  addition  and  sometimes  chicken  is  added  or  substituted 
for  beef.  Occasionally  a  little  pork  is  put  in.  If  good  meat  is  used  and  it  is  well 
cooked  and  not  too  much  water  used,  it  is  very  palatable  and  noui-ishing.  The 
])etter  families  make  it  with  chicken,  well  flavored,  and  the  chicken  and  vegetables 
are  served  separately. 

Chacarero. — A  farmer — a  man  who  tills  the  land  and  raises  a  croji  on  a  chacra,  or 
farm. 

5 


THE  ANIMAL  INDUSTRY  OF  ARGENTINA. 


By  Frank  W.  Bicknell, 
Special  Agent  and  Agricultural  Explorer. 


INTRODUCTION. 


The  Argentine  Republic  is  not  to  be  studied  hastil}"  if  reliable 
information  is  expected.  Man}^  mistaken  ideas  of  the  countrj"  have 
been  promulgated  by  those  who  have  spoken  or  written  from  imper- 
fect knowledge  or  from  hasty  surface  observations.  It  is  difficult  to 
obtain  complete  or  accurate  information  regarding  any  resource  or 
industry.  Neither  Government  officials  nor  the  people  engaged  in  any 
kind  of  business  have  collected  and  published  complete  and  exact 
reports  concerning  what  is  being  done  or  may  be  done  in  the  countr3^ 
One  can  never  be  sure  to  what  extent  statistics  have  been  "estimated," 
and  the  operation  of  comparing  and  analyzing  a  part  of  these  reports  is 
likel}"  to  reveal  flaws  that  raise  doubts  as  to  the  reliability  of  the  whole. 
So  the  independent  investigator,  desiring  to  prove  all  things — to  take 
nothing  for  granted  and  to  state  nothing  of  which  he  is  himself  in 
doubt — must  get  as  man}"  facts,  esttmates,  and  opinions  as  possible, 
and  then,  adding  his  own  observations  and  knowledge,  be  prepared  to 
judge  of  the  value  of  what  he  has  heard  and  read  and  to  form  his  own 
conclusions.  This  is  the  policy  which  was  adopted  by  the  writer  in 
his  investigations  in  Argentina  during  parts  of  the  years  1902  and 
1903 — something  over  a  year  altogether.  This  brief  account  of  some 
phases  of  the  live-stock  industry  in  the  great,  rich  Republic  of  the 
south  is  conservative  rather  than  enthusiastic,  and  the  statements 
made  herein  have  been  carefully  verified. 

The  first  object  of  this  inquir}'^  was  to  determine  whether  or  not  the 
breeders  of  pure-blooded  stock  in  the  United  States  could  sell  animals 
in  Argentina.  That  question  may  be  answered  positively  in  the 
affirmative,  providing  the  conditions  here  set  forth  are  studied  and 
observed  and  only  first-class  animals  are  sent  to  the  Argentine  sales. 
If  some  good  Shorthorn  bulls  and  cows  could  arrive  in  Buenos  Aires 
from  about  the  1st  to  the  20th  of  August,  so  they  could  pass  the 
required  forty  daj^s  in  quarantine  and  be  ready  to  be  shown  at  the 
time  of  the  great  annual  stock  show  and  sales  in  the  latter  part  of 

7 


8  miKKAU    OF    ANIMAL    INDUSTRY. 

September  and  the  first  of  October,  there  is  little  doubt  that  the 
returns  would  ])c  quite  satisf actor}':  to  those  who  sent  them. 

Because  this  country  is  a  long  distance  from  the  United  States  and 
the  people  strange  to  us,  we  should  not  be  frightened  and  hesitate  to 
reach  out  for  a  business  that  is  so  simple  and  that  has  earned  such 
handsome  profits  for  others.  There  is  nothing  to  fear  in  taking 
stock  to  Argentina  to  sell  if  the  animals  are  right.  They  should 
without  fail  be  tested  for  tuberculosis  before  leaving  home,  for  they 
will  be  subjected  to  the  tuberculin  test  there  at  the  end  of  the  forty 
days'  quarantine,  and,  if  they  react,  showing  that  they  have  the  dis- 
ease, they  will  have  to  be  slaughtered  or  removed  from  the  countr}^ 
immediately.  The  English  breeders  who  send  animals  to  Argentina 
do  not  generally  do  this.  Our  Government  certificate  showing  free- 
dom from  tuberculosis  would  therefore  add. to  the  value  of  the 
animals. 

There  is  no  prejudice  against  any  North  American  in  Argentina 
that  is  worth  taking  into  consideration  in  any  business  enterprise. 
Any  man  from  the  United  States  who  has  something  to  sell  that 
pleases  the  people  there  will  be  well  received,  and  he  has  as  good  a 
chance  to  sell  it  as  anj'^  other  man  from  any  other  country,  providing 
that  he  knows  the  conditions  as  well  as  the  other  man  and  conforms  to 
them.  These  things  he  must  learn.  To  sell  breeding  stock  he  will 
have  no  trouble  if  the  animals  are  the  right  sort,  for  good  breeding 
stock  is  keenly  sought  after,  and  the  suppl}'  is  inadequate.  The  Argen- 
tines would  be  very  glad  to  see  us  enter  more  into  competition  with 
the  English  and  others  in  respect  of  their  trade,  and  we  may  do  so 
very  profitably  and  safely  if  we  study  the  conditions  and  obser^'e  them 
in  what  we  do.  The  writer  met  with  a  very  cordial  reception  among 
Argentines,  and  has  to  acknowledge  many  courtesies.  He  found 
them,  as  well  as  the  English  farmers  and  stock  raisers,  who  are  very 
strong  there,  always  willing  to  give  information.  They  show  a  lively 
interest  in  us  and  admiration  for  our  development. 

THE    ARGENTINE    RURAL   SOCIETY. 

The  first  Argentine  Rural  Society  (Sociedad  Rural  Argentino),  the 
progenitor  of  the  present  organization  bearing  that  name,  had  its 
origin  in  1857.  The  prime  mover  in  putting  the  idea  into  ejffect  has 
told  the  writer  the  story  of  the  inception  and  development  of  this, 
probably  the  most  important,  organization  in  Argentina.  Like  many 
other  good  things  in  Argentina,  it  had  its  inception  in  England.  Don 
Eduardo  Olivera,  then  a  student  in  London,  attending  the  lectures  of 
John  Nesbit  on  agricultural  chemistry,  noticed  in  a  Buenos  Aires 
newspaper  an  article  by  Domingo  Faustino  Sarmiento,  afterwards 
President  of  the  Republic  and  also  the  man  who  introduced  the  North 
American   teachers   to  Argentina,  commending  a  letter  the  young 


Bulletin  -No.  48,  B.  A.  I. 


Plate  I. 


Bulletin  No.  48,  B.  A.  I. 


Plate  II. 


ANIMAL    INDUSTRY    OF    ARGENTINA.  9 

man  had  written  to  his  father  describing  the  agricultural  show  in 
Birmingham.  The  Argentines  were  advised  to  avail  themselves  of  the 
benefits  of  like  organizations,  and  this  led  to  the  organization  the  follow- 
ing year  of  the  first  agricultural  show  in  the  country^ — a  very  small 
affair,  under  the  presidency  of  Gervasio  A.  Posadas.  During  the  show 
a  meeting  of  estancieros  **  was  held  and  a  committee  named  to  form  a 
rural  society.  This  committee  consisted  of  Senores  Posadas,  Sarmiento, 
Olivera,  Favier,  and  Clark.  But  civil  war  came  on,  and  the  committee 
never  met.  It  was  not  until  Jul}^,  1866,  that  fourteen  breeders  met  in 
Buenos  Aires  and  organized  the  present  Rural  Society.  The  provi- 
sional committee  was  Jose  Martinez  de  Hoz,  Eduardo  Olivera,  and 
Ramon  Viton.  The  rules  and  plan  for  the  society,  which  had  been 
prepared  in  1858  by  Senor  Olivera,  were  the  basis  of  the  permanent 
organization,  which  was  perfected  a  month  later  (August,  1866)  with 
forty-seven  members.  The  chief  objects  of  the  societ}^,  as  then  set 
forth,  were  the  following: 

(1)  To  promote  by  all  possible  means  the  improvement  of  our  stock  in  a  rational 
way,  l)ase(l  upon  scientific  experience. 

(2)  To  study  the  best  means  of  irrigating  our  dry  camps,  as  well  as  to  drain 
swamps. 

(3)  To  promote  the  morality  and  well-being  of  our  camp  population. 

(4)  To  study  the  best  breeds  of  cattle  and  sheep  abroad,  with  the  purpose  of 
improving,  by  importation  of  breeding  animals,  the  stock  we  now  possess. 

(5)  To  search  for  and  study  scientific  methods  adapted  to  the  conditions  of  our 
country  and  calculated  to  increase  our  agricultural  output. 

(6)  To  secure  commercial  relations  with  foreign  countries,  in  order  to  exchange 
produce  and  create  a  market  for  ours  abroad. 

To  assist  in  carrying  out  these  purposes,  it  was  deemed  necessary  to 
secure  rational  teaching  of  agriculture  and  to  establish  an  agricultural 
museum  to  display  national  products,  soils,  etc.,  and  also  foreign  prod- 
uce of  a  similar  nature,  to  serve  as  models.  Practical  tests  of  the 
most  improved  machinery  were  provided  for.  The  museum  was 
founded  under  the  presidency  of  Senor  Olivera,  and  later  has  been 
reorganized  as  the  Industrial  Club,  its  scope  greatlj'  enlarged,  and 
made  a  very  important  factor  in  the  industrial  development  of  the 
country,  maintaining,  as  it  does,  a  permanent  exposition  of  national 
products  in  Buenos  Aires. 

The  first  pretentious  show  of  the  Rural  Societv  was  held  in  Palermo, 
a  suburb  of  Buenos  Aires,  in  1875.  The  officers  and  their  friends — 
those  personally  engaged  in  the  venture — had  great  difliculty  in  getting 
any  animals  to  exhibit.  Very  few  seemed  to  take  much  interest  in  the 
show.  .  Onl}'  18  cattle,  19  sheep,  and  19  horses  were  exhibited.  In 
fact,  it  was  not  until  1895  that  the  show  assumed  national  and  note- 
worthy importance.  Its  development  since  then  has  been  rapid, 
steady,  and  sure,  except  as  regards  sheep,  with  which  there  have  been 

«  See  page  5  for  explanation  of  this  and  other  terms. 


10 


BUREAU    OF   ANIMAL    INDUSTRY. 


fluctuations.     The  following  comparison  of  the  number  of  animals 
exhibited  since  1895  shows  the  development  of  the  exposition: 

Number  of  cattle,  horsen,  and  sheep,  and  value  of  sales  at  the  expositions  of  the  Rural  Society, 

1S95  to  lf)02. 


Year. 

Cattle. 

Horses. 

Sheep. 

Sales. 

1895 

253 
497 

654 
942 
1,487 
1,736 
1,881 
2,068 

84 
91 
116 
245 
191 
271 
249 
314 

531 
1,783 
2,080 
1,157 
2,204 
2,068 
1,800 
1,718 

«130,000 
300,000 
335,000 
660,000 
880,000 
975,000 
916,000 
1,291,797 

1896 

1897 

1898 

1899 

1900 

1901 

1902 

Besides  these,  other  sales  are  held  overj'  3^ear,  at  various  other  fairs 
in  other  parts  of  the  countr}^,  usually  in  August,  September,  and  Octo- 
ber. Last  year  an  exposition  similar  to  the  one  in  Buenos  Aires  was 
held  in  Rosario,  and,  for  the  first  eflfort,  was  remarkably  successful. 
The  sales  were  small,  because  at  that  time  the  crop  outlook  was  veiy 
uncertain;  pastures  had  suffered  from  frost  and  drought  in  the  country 
tributary  to  that  show,  and  estancieros  were  avoiding  every  possible 
expenditure.  The  rains  came  and  the  prospect  brightened  very  much, 
however,  before  the  Palermo  show  in  Buenos  Aires  was  held;  so  the 
sales  there  were  good. 

Various  fairs  are  held  in  the  province  of  Buenos  Aires,  some  of  them 
under  the  auspices  of  societies  and  some  by  auctioneers  for  the  sale  of 
live  stock — both  breeding  stock  and  stock  cattle,  fattened  or  to  l)e  fat- 
tened, and  sheep.  Then,  there  are  the  sales  held  in  the  auction  houses 
in  Buenos  Aires,  which  are  very  important  to  breeders,  for  here  are 
brought  together  representatives  of  the  best  herds  and  flocks  in  the 
country  and  also  the  best  imported  animals.  This  year  all  the 
imported  animals,  which  are  already  arriving  from  England,  will  be 
sold  in  these  great  auction  marts. 

The  next  show,  to  be  held  in  September  and  October,  1903,  will  be 
a  national  show,  where  only  those  animals  bred  in  the  country  will  be 
admitted,  either  for  exhibition  or  sale,  unless  owned  l)y  Argentines  at 
the  present  time  (May,  1903).  All  imported  stock  will  therefore  be 
sold  in  the  auction  marts  in  the  qMj.  Next  year  (190-1)  the  show  will 
probably  be  international,  foreign-bred  animals  being  admitted.  Both 
before  and  aftQr  the  show,  every  3'^ear,  sales  are  in  progress  in  these 
marts.  Two  of  them  are  a  block  in  depth,  opening  on  two  streets 
in  the  business  center  and  have  large,  airv,  clean  stalls  and  auction 
rings,  where  the  animals  are  well  cared  for  and  shown  to  the  best 
advantage.  Sales  of  rams  arc  held  here  at  the  time  of  the  September- 
October  show,  and  again  in  January,  and  then,  beginning  in  March,  for 


ANIMAL   INDUSTRY    OF    ARGENTINA.  11 

several  weeks.  In  January  of  this  year  383  rams  were  sold  in  one  sale. 
The  September-October  sales  are  always  best,  however.  Nearl}-  all 
kinds  of  live  stock  are  sold  at  auction  in  this  countr}'. 

Until  the  organization  of  the  national  department  of  agriculture, 
about  four  years  ago,  the  Rural  Society  exerted  a  tremendous  influ- 
ence upon  legislation  and  all  regulations  affecting  the  stock  and  agri- 
cultui-al  interests,  especially  the  former.  It  is  composed  mostly  of 
wealthy  and  influential  men,  most  of  whom  live  at  least  a  large  part  of 
the  year  in  the  city  of  Buenos  Aires.  They  are  owners  of  hundreds 
of  thousands  of  acres  of  the  best  land  in  the  Republic  and  are  chiefly 
interested  in  stock  raising.  The  influence  of  the  Rural  Society  is  still 
very  great,  and  it  is  extending  its  usefulness  by  trying  to  interest  and 
benefit  the  agricultural  class,  even  the  small  colonist.  The  first  agri- 
cultural show  proper  was  held  in  May  of  this  year,  and  it  was  the  aim 
of  the  management  to  make  it  similar  to  our  great  agricultural  fairs. 
For  a  number  of  j'ears  the  society  has  held  a  show  at  this  time  for  the 
exhibition  of  fat  stock  and  horses  only. 

The  Rural  Society  afiiliates  to  a  certain  extent  with  similar  organi- 
zations in  other  provinces,  and  a  delegate  is  appointed  to  represent 
the  Rural  Society  in  each  of  these.  There  are  eight  of  these  provin- 
cial societies,  most  of  which  publish  monthly  bulletins,  and  several 
local  or  district  societies  in  the  province  of  Buenos  Aires  that  hold 
local  fairs  and  sales. 

They  are  beginning  to  learn  in  Argentina  what  their  big  fertile 
country  can  do  for  them,  and  where  and  how  to  make  the  best  of  it. 
They  lack  agricultural  literature  and  periodicals,  such  as  we  have, 
because  the  scientific  stud}'  of  agriculture  is  onl}'  just  beginning,  and 
because  the  farmers  (called  chacareros,  as  distinguished  from  estan- 
cieros,  or  stock  raisers),  the  men  who  are  raising  crops,  are  mostl}'^ 
foreigners,  man}^  of  them  unable  and  unwilling  to  read.  Of  course, 
there  are  many  proprietors  (owners  of  land  on  a  large  scale)  and  a  few 
small  farmers  who  are  eager  for  the  best  information  to  be  had.  For 
the  benefit  of  these  the  Rural  Society  publishes  a  monthly  review,  or 
bulletin,  of  60  to  100  pages,  containing  the  best  information  obtainable 
regarding  agricultural  and  stock- i-aising  matters,  with  market  condi- 
tions the  world  over,  and  Kuch  statistical  information  as  may  be  had. 
The  Rural  Society  in  Rosario  also  publishes  a  monthly  bulletin,  and 
so  do  some  of  the  other  rural  societies.  The  ministry  of  agriculture 
publishes,  besides  numerous  special  bulletins  and  reports,  a  semi- 
monthly bulletin  covering  the  whole  field  of  agriculture,  stock  raising, 
forestry,  etc.,  which  is  quite  exhaustive.  The  newspapers  give  con- 
siderable attention  to  live  stock  and  agriculture.  One  English  daily 
has  a  page  on  Sundaj^  given  wholly  to  these  subjects.  The  English 
estancieros  have  done  much  for  the  country  b}'^  adopting  improved 
methods,  and  the}'  are  all  students  of  agricultural  and  live-stock  litera- 


12  BDREAIT    OF    ANIMAL    TNDTTRTRY. 

ture.  Periodicals  smd  ])ooks,  and  o.spocially  the  publications  of  the 
United  States  Department  of  Agriculture,  are  eaj^erly  seized  upon  hy 
the  energetic,  progressive  English,  and  l)y  many  native  Argentine's  of 
Latin  blood  who  have  learned  English  and  desire  to  profit  b}'  our 
experience  and  study. 

THE    GREAT   ANNUAL   STOCK    SHOW. 

All  Argentine  ])reeders,  or  at  least  95  per  cent  of  them,  look  for- 
ward to  the  annual  show  of  breeding  stock,  given  })y  the  Argentine 
Rural  Society  in  September  and  October  in  Buenos  Aires,  as  the  time 
when  they  will  sell  the  animals  they  have  raised  for  other  ))reeders  or 
for  estiincieros  and  secure  new  blood  for  their  herds.  The  show  is  a 
great  national  stock  exchange,  where  the  breeders  })ring  what  they 
have  to  offer  and  come  to  see  what  others  have  done,  and  the  estiinci- 
eros,  the  producers  of  beef  and  nuitton  and  wool  and  horses,  come  to 
buy  ''reproductores"  to  supply  their  large  needs;  so  there  are  )>uyers 
for  all  classes  of  animals.  The  cabanero,  or  breeder  of  pedigreed 
animals,  looks  only  for  the  best,  and  is  willing  to  pay  fancy  and  prac- 
tically unlimited  prices  for  animals  that  meet  his  ideas  of  perfection. 
The  estanciero,  or  producer  of  beef,  mutton,  and  wool,  looks  onl}', 
as  a  rule,  for  animals  of  individual  merit  for  his  own  use  in  the  camp, 
and  he  does  not  care  for  pedigree.  He  is  contented  with  a  grade  bull 
that  he  can  buy  at  $200  to  $1,000.  The  same  is  true  of  the  sheep  and 
horses  shown  in  the  exposition,  as  it  will  be  noticed  that  many  well- 
bred  mestizos,  or  gi-aded  animals,  sold  for  good  prices  in  cattle  and 
sheep  and  poor  prices  in  horses. 

The  opening  of  the  fair  is  a  gala  occasion.  The  President  of  the 
Republic  always  attends  and  the  minister  of  agriculture  delivers  an 
address,  as  well  as  the  president  of  the  society.  The  speech  of  the 
latter,  made  at  the  opening  of  the  exposition  in  September,  1902, 
contained  some  rather  remarkable  suggestions,  as  he  is  a  firm  friend  of 
England,  and  has  been  much  gratified  by  having  been  made  an  honor- 
ary member  of  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society  of  Great  Britain.  This 
gentleman,  Dr.  E.  Ramos  Mexia,  was  formerly  minister  of  agricul- 
ture and  a  mem))er  of  the  Argentine  Congress,  where  he  advocated 
the  passage  of  a  law  requiring  the  modification  of  the  tuberculin  test 
of  cattle  for  tuberculosis,  in  that  animals  not  far  advanced  in  the  dis- 
ease should  not  be  slaughtered  on  arrival  in  the  countr}-,  but  should  be 
branded  so  they  could  be  known  and  kept  apart  from  others.  But 
this  proposition  was  defeated  and  the  disposition -of  animals  found  to 
be  affected  with  tuberculosis  under  the  tuberculin  test  was  left,  in  the 
order  putting  the  law  into  effect,  to  the  determination  of  the  execu- 
tive. This  decree  orders  the  destruction  of  the  animals  or  their  imme- 
diate shipment  out  of  the  countr\'.  Dr.  Ramos  Mexia  has  published 
a  pamphlet  on  the  subject  in  the  English  language,  in  which  he  gives 


ANIMAL    INDUSTRY    OF    ARGENTINA.  13 

his  speeches  in  Congress  sustaining  his  contentions.  The  work  is 
dedicated  to  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society  of  England. 

After  the  first  week  of  the  fair  much  of  the  best  stock  is  removed. 
The  attendance  is  not  large  at  any  time — only  a  few  hundred  men 
being  present,  except  on  a  few  afternoons,  when  the  ladies  come.  The 
show  has  been  and  is  yet,  to  a  large  extent,  for  rich  men — those  doing 
business  on  a  large  scale.  The  small  farmers  and  stock  raisers  do  not 
come  to  see  it.  It  is  in  no  sense  a  fair  like  our  great  State  fairs.  This 
year  they  are  organizing  for  the  first  time  an  agricultural  fair,  to  be 
combined  with  the  fat-stock  show  this  month  (May,  1903),  in  which 
they  hope  to  interest  a  greater  number  of  small  proprietors.  The 
admission  fee  at  the  exposition  is  at  first  $2  and  is  gradually  reduced 
to  50  cents  during  the  second  week. 

The  visitor,  fresh  from  the  United  States,  with  indefinite  ideas 
about  "the  wild  cattle  on  the  pampas  of  the  Argentine  Republic"  is 
astonished  to  land  here,  pass  through  this  great,  modern,  healthy  city 
of  876,000  people,  past  its  beautiful,  well-kept  parks  to  the  well- 
equipped  and  admirably  arranged  grounds  of  the  Argentine  Rural 
Society,  and  there  find  the  greatest  collection  of  purebred  cattle  and 
sheep  that  he  ever  saw.  The  grounds  are  beautiful,  and  the  buildings 
and  stalls  for  animals  are  very  well  arranged  and  spacious.  The  loca- 
tion is  in  a  suburb  of  the  city  called  Palermo,  near  the  finest  park  in 
the  city. 

The  new  feature  of  this  year's  show  was  the  dairy  exhibit,  the  first 
one  the  society  has  given.  This  was  demanded  by  the  lively  interest 
in  that  industry  now  being  manifested  in  the  country,  and  this  exhibit 
attracted  more  attention  from  the  people  than  any  other  part  of  the 
show.  A  very  large  building  was  supplied  with  power,  and  all  sorts 
of  dairy  machinery  was  shown  in  operation.  The  United  States  was 
not  well  represented  in  this  exhibit,  but  our  manufacturers  might  do 
well  there. 

Very  little  interest  is  taken  in  hogs  in  Argentina,  as  their  absence 
from  the  exposition  shows.  It  is  quite  safe  to  predict  that  some 
day  pork  will  be  one  of  the  chief  sources  of  Argentine  wealth,  but 
at  present  the  business  of  hog  raising  is  out  of  favor,  though  the 
products  of  the  hog,  when  properh^  prepared,  bring  high  prices.  The 
chief  obstacle  seems  to  be  the  lack  of  a  reliable  market  at  this  time 
for  a  large  production,  and  the  high  taxes  and  great  amount  of 
inspection  that  accompany  the  marketing  of  pork.  Argentina  once 
had  a  good  market  in  Brazil,  but  that  was  lost  by  the  degeneration  of 
the  pork  owing  to  the  feeding  of  pigs  on  decayed  animals  and  other 
offal.  When  the  system  of  feeding  corn  to  animals  is  adopted,  and 
large  packing  houses  assure  producers  of  a  steady  market,  the  hog 
business  will  come  up  in  Argentina,  for  there  appears  to  be  no  good 
reason  why  it  should  not. 


14  BUREAU    OF    ANIMAL    INDUSTRY. 

Tho  work  of  the  judj^eis  in  tliis  exposition  is  jrencrally  done  before 
the  show  opens.  This  is  always  the  practice  in  the  fat-stock  show  in 
May. 

THE   ANNUAL    SALES   OF   BREEDINO    STOCK. 

The  most  signilicant  feature  of  the  stock  show  in  September  was  the 
sale  of  the  animals  l)roiight  there  for  that  purpose;  for  that,  undoubt- 
edly, is  the  vital  thing  in  the  whole  enterprise — that  which  gives  it 
such  an  attraction  for  breeders  and  meat  producers.  Not  an  imported 
animal  was  sold  in  the  show,  and  onl}^  a  few  just  before.  These  few 
were  an  installment  that  had  been  brought  from  the  United  States 
about  two  years  before,  and,  having  left  New  York  the  day  after  the 
Argentine  ports  were  closed  to  the  United  States,  were  prohibited 
from  entering  the  country  until  this  time.  They  were  chiefly  of  Scotch 
blood  and  most  of  them  had  been  imported  into  the  United  States  and 
Canada.  The  highest  price  got  by  any  of  them  was  $7,400  for  a  roan 
3i  years  old.  Others  sold  for  $4,900,  $4,500,  $3,500,  $4,450,  and  so  on. 
One  bull,  a  Cruikshank  4^  years  old,  was  from  Danvers,  111.  His  age 
was  against  him,  as  it  was  with  all  this  lot,  and  he  had  a  bad  knee.  He 
has  not  been  sold  and  is  on  an  estancia  owned  by  the  importer.  There 
is  no  profit  in  bringing  bulls  here  over  30  months  old,  and  24  months 
or  thereabouts  is  better. 

In  this  show  in  September  and  October  1,402  cattle,  199  horses,  and 
924  sheep  were  sold.  The  numbers  of  each  exhibited  were:  Cattle, 
2,068;  horses,  314,  and  sheep,  1,718.  Six  pigs  and  31  representatives 
of  the  poultry  yard  were  sold,  the  pigs  averaging  about  $45  each  and 
the  poultry  $11. 

The  prices  for  breeding  cattle  wore  generall}^  better  than  ever  before, 
owing  to  the  lack  of  any  imported  stock  and  to  the  prosperous  outlook 
for  the  stock  interests  and  for  the  country  generally.  The  prices 
obtained  for  ordinary  camp  bulls— not  eligible  to  registration  in  the 
herdbook,  from  grade  cows  wholly  without  pedigree — were  the  most 
astonishing.  These  were  shfown  in  open  pens  in  lots  of  from  4  to  10 
animals,  generally  about  8.  Of  the  Shorthorns  there  were  74  lots, 
comprising  542  animals,  that  sold  for  $214,514,  or  an  average  of 
$395. 78.  This  is  equivalent  to  about  $174  United  States  money.  Twelve 
of  these  animals  sold  for  more  than  $1,000  each,  the  highest  being 
$1,500.  Many  brought  from  $600  to  $950,  and  tho  lowest  price  was 
$70,  and  this  for  only  a  few  animals.  The  Shorthorn  heifers  of  the 
same  class  did  not  sell  so  well,  for  the}'  wei'o  inferior  animals.  Some- 
what over  300  of  them  were  shown,  of  which  157  wore  sold  at  an  aver- 
age of  $216.65,  the  highest  being  $850  and  the  lowest  $40.  These 
heifers  were  not  considered  good  animals,  or  the}' would  have  brought 
good  prices.  The  best  heifers  are  rarely  offered  at  public  sale.  Com- 
paratively few  breeders  have  cows  or  heifers  to  sell,  or  at  least  they 


ANIMAL   INDUSTRY    OF    ARGENTINA.  15 

do  not  offer  the  best  of  these  as  they  do  with  their  bulls.  They  keep 
the  heifers  for  their  own  use  as  a  rule  and  sell  onh'  the  least  desirable 
animals.  Breeders  are  keenly  on  the  lookout  for  good  cows  and  heif- 
ers, and  if  any  are  for  sale  some  one  in  the  neighborhood  is  likel}^  to 
buy  them  privateh',  saving  the  owner  the  trouble  and  expense  of  tak- 
ing them  to  market  to  be  sold  at  auction.  These  conditions  explain 
the  rather  indifferent  quality,  the  comparatively  low  prices,  and  small 
numbers  of  cows  and  heifers  at  the  annual  stock  show. 

Taking  the  prize-winning  animals  as  the}'  come,  according  to  age, 
we  ma}'  learn  something  of  the  preferences  of  Argentine  breeders 
and  the  prices  they  are  willing  to  pay.  It  should  be  remembered  that 
these  prices  for  native  bulls  were  higher  than  ever  before  because 
of  the  fact  stated  above  that  there  had  been  no  importations  of  any 
consequence  for  eighteen  months. 

SHORTHORN    BULLS. 

Born  March  1  to  December  31,  1899:  (1)  Lord  Wenlock,  roan,  bred 
by  Percy ra,  sold  for  $6,000;  (2)  Boer  137,  roan,  bred  by  Pereda,  sold 
for  $3,200;  (3)  Baron  049,  red  and  white,  bred  by  Gimenez  Paz,  sold 
for  $7,200.  Twenty-eight  entries,  26  sold,  average  $2,688;  highest 
$7,200,  lowest  $1,300. 

Born  January  1  to  June  30,  1900:  (1)  Ladas  6,  roan,  champion  of 
the  show  and  winner  of  special  prizes,  bred  by  Thomas  Bell,  sold  for 
$10,300;  (2)  Surcouf,  roan,  bred  by  Fages,  sold  for  $10,500;  (3) 
Somerville  310,  roan,  bred  by  Vivot,  sold  for  $7,000;  honorable  men- 
tion, Mercurio  152,  roan,'  bred  by  Pereda,  sold  for  $11,100.  Nineteen 
entries,  18  sold,  average  $3,944;  highest  §11,100,  lowest  $750. 

Born  between  Julyl  and  December  31,  1900:  (1)  Farrier  Bridekirk, 
red,  bred  by  Pereyra,  sold  for  $11,000;  (2)  Sultan  12,  roan,  bred  by 
Villafafie,  sold  for  $4,000;  (3)  Ulpiano,  red,  bred  by  Fages,  sold  for 
$5,300;  first  honorable  mention,  Stanley  325,  red  and  white,  bred  by 
Vivot,  sold  for  $4,200;  second  honorable  mention,  Boulevard  062,  red, 
bred  by  Gimenez  Paz,  sold  for  $6,000.  Sixty-one  entries,  51  sold, 
average  $2,795;  highest  $11,000,  lowest  $665. 

Born  between  January  1  and  June  30,  1901:  (1)  Newton  Stone,  roan, 
bred  by  Thomas  Bell;  (2)  Alexandro  Beauty  091,  roan,  bred  by  Gime- 
nez Paz;  (3)  Fernando,  roan,  bred  by  Aldao.  Twenty-three  entries, 
but  none  of  the  winners  sold;  9  others  in  the  class  sold  from  $1,100  to 
$5,600,  average  $1,877. 

SHORTHORN   COWS. 

Born  before  January  1,  1900:  (1)  Stella  155,  red,  bred  by  Jose 
Cobo;  (2)  Duchess  Lily  22,  red  and  white,  bred  by  Anchorena;  (3) 
Celestina  103,  roan,  bred  by  Malbran,  sold  for  $2,000.  Seven  entries, 
1  sale, 


16  BUREAU    OF    ANIMAL    INDUSTRY. 

Born  between  January  1  and  June  30,  1900:  (1)  Duchess  Lily  26, 
roan,  bred  by  Anchorena;  only  entry. 

Born  between  July  1,  1900,  and  March  1,  1901:  (1)  Calomel  16, 
roan,  bred  by  Pereyra;  (2)  Dalia  89,  roan,  bred  by  Pereyra;  (3)  Rose- 
mary, red  and  white,  bred  b}^  Cardenas,  sold  for  $2,000.  Eight  entries, 
4  sales  at  $2,000  each. 

HEBEPORD   BULLS. 

Born  between  March  1  and  December  31,  1899:  (1)  Gmndison  42, 
champion  of  the  breed  in  the  show  and  also  champion  of  the  bulls  of 
the  beef  races,  bred  by  Villafane,  not  sold,  and  since  died;  (2)  Caron- 
bier  54,  bred  by  Pereda,  sold  for  $2,150;  (3)  Kaki  (53,  bred  by  Pereda, 
sold  for  $1,100.     Four  entries,  2  sales. 

Born  between  January  1  and  June  30,  1900:  (1)  Shamrock,  bred  by 
Pereyra;  (2)  Malmesbury  9,  bred  by  Villafane,  sold  for  $3,200;  (3) 
Grandison  52,  bred  by  Villafane,  sold  for  $2,000.  Four  entries,  3 
sales;  lowest  $800. 

Born  between  July  1  and  December  31,  1900:  (1)  Wonderful,  bred 
by  Pereyra;  (2)  Grandison  15,  bred  by  Villafane;  (3)  Grandison  55, 
bred  by  Villafane,  sold  for  $2,500.  Fourteen  entries;  10  sales  at  $500 
to  $2,500,  average  $925. 

Born  between  Januar}'  1  and  June  30,  1901:  (1)  Grandison  63,  (2) 
Grandison  65,  and  (3)  Iron  King,  all  bred  by  Villafafie,  and  the  3  sold 
for  $7,000. 

Only  1  Hereford  cow,  born  between  July  1,  1900,  and  March  1, 
1901,  was  shown  for  a  prize:  Zamora,  shown  by  Pereyra,  and  given  a 
second  prize,  and  not  sold. 

OTHER   BREEDS. 

Only  4  Polled  Angus  bulls  were  shown  for  prizes.  One  was  sold 
for  $500  and  another  went  with  two  2-year-old  cows  for$l,3(M»  for  the 
lot.  Only  3  Polled  Angus  cows  were  shown,  the  winner  of  the  first 
prize  going  with  the  bull  referred  to  and  another  cow  for  $1,300. 

A  few  Holstein  bulls  were  offered,  1  being  sold  for  $1,050  and  2 
others  for  $500  each.  Only  one  prize  was  awarded,  and  that  to  the 
one  that  sold  for  $1,050. 

Not  a  Jersey  was  to  be  seen  in  the  show,  either  for  prize  or  sale. 
The  .Jersey  herd  in  Carcamna,  owned  by  people  from  the  United  States 
who  have  for  years  operated  a  cheese  factor}'  there  and  made  it  famous, 
is  the  only  one  of  4iny  size  in  the  country.  Jerseys  are  regarded  as 
an  expensive  family  luxury  and  only  a  few  people  think  of  having 
them,  because  they  do  not  make  beef. 

ANIMALS   IN   OROUI'S. 

Two  groups  of  Shorthorn  bulls  of  8  animals  each,  born  in  1900,  all 
registered,  the  only  entries  in  their  classes,  sold  at  $1,000  to  $2,100 


Bulletin  No.  48,  B.  A.  I. 


Plate  111. 


Bulletin   No.  48,  B.  A.  I. 


Plate  IV. 


Bulletin   No.  48,  B.  A.   I. 


Plate  V. 


C 


ANIMAL    INDUSTRY    OF   ARGENTINA.  17 

cacli,  one  group  averaging  $1,875  and  the  other  $l,5i9.  't'wo  groups 
of  Herefords  of  the  same  grade  sold  for  averages  of  $700  and  $625, 
respectiveh",  the}'  being  the  only  entries.  Two  groups  of  8  Hereford 
heifers,  the  only  entries,  sold  at  an  average  of  $270  and  $25(>,  respec- 
tively.    No  Shorthorn  heifers  were  shown  in  groups  for  prizes. 

GRADK    ANIMALS. 

Under  the  head  of  mestizos,  or  grades,  some  very  satisfactor}'^  sales 
are  recorded,  showing  the  readiness  of  the  Argentine  breeder  to  buy 
animals  on  their  individual  merits,  without  a  recognized  pedigree  and 
ineligible  to  entry  in  the  Argentine  herdbook,  especially  if  such  ani- 
mals come  from  well-known  breeders  and  have  been  sired  by  registered 
bulls.  The  Shorthorn  bulls  in  this  category  were  shown  in  groups  of 
8,  and  there  were  35  entries  for  prizes,  the  classification  being  "Grade 
Shorthorn  bulls  of  two  and  four  teeth."  The  group  that  won  the  first 
prize  was  not  sold.  The  winners  of  the  second  prize  sold  for  an  average 
of  $1,731,  and  the  third  prize  group  for  an  average  of  $1,035.  Of  the 
280  animals  entered  in  this  class  218  were  sold,  the  average  price  being 
$725.  The  highest  price  was  $2,600  and  the  lowest  $80,  the  latter  for 
2  lots  only.  All  the  others  sold  for  $250  or  more,  generally  around 
$600  to  $800,  while  58  of  these  young  bulls  sold  for  $1,000  or  more. 
The  heifers  of  the  corresponding  category  sold  for  less  than  half,  and 
the  best  of  them  were  reserved  from  sale.  Of  the  120  shown,  56  were 
sold  at  an  average  price  of  $.345.  The  first  and  second  prize  winners 
were  not  offered  for  sale,  and  the  lot  that  won  third  prize  sold  for  an 
average  of  $734 — 1  of  them  for  $1,000.  These  bulls  were  better  ani- 
mals than  those  referred  to  in  the  beginning  of  this  chapter,  ttie  "camp 
bulls  in  pen,"  that  sold  for  an  average  of  $395.78.  The  latter  were 
rougher  animals,  raised  in  the  camp,  never  having  had  any  special  care, 
and  most  of  them  were  not  so  well  bred  as  the  ones  just  referred  to, 
which  were  entered  for  prizes.  But  many  successful  breeders  are 
going  in  for  bulls  that  have  not  been  pampered,  but  have  grown  up 
under  the  conditions  which  they  must  meet  on  the  average  estancia 
that  is  not  breeding  show  animals,  but  is  aiming  to  produce  the  most 
beef  of  the  best  quality  at  the  least  cost.  It  is  often  said  in  Argentina 
that  the  ambition  to  produce  show  animals  has  resulted  in  lowering 
the  vitality  of  the  sires.  "What  we  want,"  breeders  often  say,  "is  a 
good  supply  of  young,  hardy  bulls  that  have  been  raised  to  camp  con- 
ditions, so  they  can  go  out  with  the  herd,  take  things  as  they  come, 
and  keep  in  good  condition  while  doing  their  work  and  without  watch- 
ing and  special  caro." 

Only  5  Hereford  grade  bulls  were  shown  under  the  class  provided 
for  them,  and  they  sold  for  $450  each.  Eight  Polled  Angus  heifers 
sold  for  $80  each  and  8  Red  Lincolns  for  $130  each. 

3369— No.  48—03 2 


18  BUREAU    OF   ANIMAL    INDUSTRY. 


ANIMALS   FOR   SALE   ONLY. 


Many  animals  are  brought  to  the  exposition  for  sale  onl}'^,  not  ])oing 
entered  for  any  prize.  Under  this  head  160  purebred  Shorthorn  bulls 
were  shown,  and  127  of  them  were  sold  at  the  average  price  of  $1,270. 
The  highest  price  was  $6,900  and  the  lowest  $2.50.  Four  sold  for  more 
than  $4,000.  These  were  all  from  one  breeder  and  were  sired  by  the 
noted  bull  Spartan.  Three  sold  for  less  than  $4,000  and  more  than 
$3,000  and  16  sold  for  prices  between  $2,000  and  $3,000.  Nearly  all 
these  bulls  were  born  between  June  and  December,  1900. 

Seven  purebred  Herefords  of  the  same  class  sold  for  prices  ranging 
from  $550  to  $2,000,  or  an  average  of  $1,191;  3  Polled  Angus  averaged 
$423;  3  Holsteins  averaged  $5.50;  5  Flemish  averaged  $1,010;  20  Polled 
Angus  camp-bred  grade  bulls  sold  for  an  average  of  $210,  and  1  lot  of 
heifers  for  $45  each.  But  the  Polled  Angus  is  gaining,  and  man}' 
well-informed  men  in  Argentina  think  it  will  be  the  second  breed  in 
the  country — next  to  the  Shorthorn — though  now  it  is  very  much 
below  the  Hereford  in  numbers. 

Among  Argentine  breeders  there  are  many  wealthy  men  who  will 
cheerfull}'  pay  enormous  prices  for  animals  that  please  their  fancy, 
and  they  frequently  do  it.  Sometimes  this  results  in  stimulating  prices 
to  an  unnatural  extent,  but  it  is  certain  that  superior  animals  will 
always  find  admirers  and  bring  prices  that  average  far  above  those 
obtained  in  the  United  States.  It  is  true  that  many  good  bulls  are 
sold  privately  in  the  country  at  lower  prices — from  $100  to  $200 — and 
that  there  are  plenty  of  native  breeders  who  have  not  3'et  learned  that 
it  pays  to  buy  a  good  bull.  There  are  plenty  of  rough,  miserable 
cattle  in  the  country,  but  improvement  is  going  on  rapidly,  as  men 
see  that  it  does  not  pay  to  raise  poor  cattle  when  on  the  same  amount 
of  land  they  might  be  producing  good  animals  and  realizing  much 
larger  profits.  The  great  increase  in  the  price  of  land  is  al-so  leading 
estancieros  to  make  the  most  of  it,  and  they  can  no  longer  afford  to  go 
on  in  the  old  loose  way,  being  satisfied  with  prices  of  cattle  ranging 
from  $20  to  $35.  They  must  double  or  treble  these  figures,  and  they 
are  doing  it;  but  they  must  continue  to  import  new  blood  to  keep  their 
herds  up  or  they  will  surely  degenerate. 


As  noted  elsewhere,  the  significant  feature  of  the  sheep  sales  was  the 
decline  in  the  prices  obtained  for  Lincolns,  as  compared  with  the  sales 
of  1901,  and  the  gain  in  prices  and  number  sold  of  Rambouillets  and 
the  Downs.  The  Merino  type  is  .surely  in  better  demand,  more  gen- 
eral, and  not  confined  to  a  few  breeders.  The  highest  price  for  a 
Rambouillet  ram  in  the  1901  show  was  $7,300,  while  in  this  show  the 
highest  price  was  onlj'-  $2,000.  About  70  per  cent  more  animals  were 
sold  in  1902,  however,  and  the  average  was  higher.     The  Hampshire 


ANIMAL   INDUSTRY    OF    ARGENTINA.  19 

Downs  held  their  average  well  up  becau.se  the}'  were  not  numerous 
and  there  Avas  a  good  demand  for  all.  Two  lambs  3  months  old  sold 
for  $175  eaeh,  which  is  said  to  T)e  the  record  price  for  Hampshire  n^im 
lambs  of  this  age.  The  sales  of  Hampshire  Downs,  Oxford  Downs, 
and  Shropshires  during  the  year  following  this  show  did  not  develop 
big  prices,  as  it  appears  that  the  breeders  supplied  their  wants  niostl}' 
during  the  show. 

HOKSKS. 

The  horse  sales  were  not  particidarly  noteworthy,  nor,  for  the  most 
part,  were  the  horses  shown.  The  horse  business  at  present  is  not  at 
its  best,  though  good  horses  ma}"  be  produced  here  ver^-  cheaply.  The 
heav}^  horses  were  criticised  because  they  were  too  heav}-  and  did  not 
show  life  enough.  Some  of  the  light  roadsters,  the  Hackneys,  and  the 
saddle  horses  were  ver}'  attractive  and  found  man}"  admirers.  These, 
it  will  be  noted,  brought  the  best  prices.  The  highest  price  in  the  sale 
was  for  a  beautiful  dapple-gray  Percheron,  4  years  old,  named  Docil. 
He  was  one  of  five  entries  in  his  class  in  which  three  prizes  were 
offered,  but  he  was  not  considered  by  the  judges  to  })e  worthy  of  a 
prize.  The  winner  of  the  first  prize  was  not  sold,  })ut  the  second- 
prize  animal  brought  $150,  while  Docil  commanded  the  top  price  in 
the  whole  show.  Many  other  good  heavy  colts  sold  for  ver}'  low  prices, 
which  was  rather  discouraging  to  the  breeders  of  this  (lass  of  horses, 
for  some  of  them  were  of  excellent  t^^pe  and  individual  qualities.  The 
sales  of  heav}^  draft  mares  was  better  than  in  the  May  show,  as  they 
were  more  uniform  and  sold  for  more  nearh'  uniform  prices,  though 
rather  low  as  compared  with  the  prices  such  mares  would  command 
elsewhere.  But  as  these  were  camp-bred  animals,  the  prices  were  not 
so  low  as  they  seem  to  the  outsider. 

The  official  report  of  sales  made  in  the  exposition  is  given  herewith 
as  it  was  prepared  by  the  Rural  Society.  As  published,  it  contained 
many  errors,  but  some  of  these  have  been  corrected.  It  is  still 
incomplete  and  inaccurate  in  some  respects,  however,  and,  like  some 
other  Argentine  official  statistics,  must  be  taken  in  a  general  way — as 
an  approximation  and  not  as  an  exact  statement.  For  instance,  it  will 
be  noticed  that  the  average  price  of  heavy  "pen"  mares  is  given  at 
$97.97,  while  the  lowest  price  is  said  to  be  §100,  when  it  was  really 
$32.  The  highest  price  paid  for  a  heav}'  stallion  is  said  to  have  been 
$2,100,  when  one  was  sold  for  $2,(100.  But,  in  a  general  way,  it  gives 
an  idea  of  the  sales  in  a  condensed  form.  The  cattle  sales,  as  given 
in  detail  in  the  foregoing  account,  were  worked  out  by  the  author  of 
this  report  independent  of  this  record. 

In  this  statement  of  sales,  "stall ''and  "pen '"are  translations  of 
Argentine  classifications  "  galpon '' and  "  corral,"  which  are  used  to 
distinguish  animals  raised  under  shelter  and  with  great  care  from 


20 


BlTREAir    OF    ANIMAL    INDUSTRY. 


those  raisod  u\oi\\  or  less  in  the  open  ciiiiip.  There  is  another  classi- 
fication midway  Ix^twoen  these  two,  naiiieh",  *'  Criado  sistenia  niixto," 
mejminj^,  kept  part  of  the  time  under  shelter  and  part  of  the  time  in 
the  open.  "Criado  acampo"  is  the  expression  jrenerally  used  for 
an  animal  that  has  hoen  raised  in  the  camj)  altogether. 

Condensed  xialcmcnt  of  xah'x  of  II  rr  slorl:  In,  I  he  St-ptcuihcr-iMohcr  cxjtosilion,  Bueno»  Airex, 

1902. 

CATTLE. 


Breed. 

Nnml)er 
exhib- 
ited. 

Number 
sold. 

Amount  of 
sales. 

Highest 
price. 

lAiwest 
price. 

Average 
price. 

Shorthorns: 

Stall 

jMiile  .... 

'"[Female.. 

Male  .... 

■.m 

19 

1,030 

469 

.      233 

790 
238 

$462,016 
12,000 

402,  cm 

5.5, 630 

911,000 
2,000 
2,600 
1,000 

$400 

2,000 

70 

40 

$1,982.90 

2, 0(J0.  OC 
509. C2 

[Female.. 

235.00 

Total             

1,819 

1,267 

932,551 

1 

Male  .... 

'"  Female.. 

Male  . . . . 

Herefords: 

Stall 

33 
7 
11 
16 

25 

35,349 

3,200 

500 

1.415.96 

Pen         

28 
16 

14,870 
4,160 

1,100 
270 

170 
250 

513.70 

[Female.. 

260.00 

97 

69 

54,379 

(Male  .... 

Polletl  Angus: 

Stall  

8 

- 

62 
29 

5 

5 

20 

16 

2,250 
1,000 
6,425 
1,000 

550 

200 

430 

80 

300 
200 
100 
45 

450.00 

IVn               

[Female.. 
.Male  . . . . 

200.00 
32L25 

(Female.. 

62.60 

106 

46 

10,675 

1 

Male  .... 

Holsteins: 

6 
5 

4 

2,600 

1,050 

200 

433.33 

■""[Female.. 



Total 

11 

4 

2.600 

1 

Male  .... 

Flemish: 

Stall  an<l  pen  . 

10 

5 

5,050 

1,250 

900 

1,010.00 

Female.. 



Total 

15 

5 

s.a-io 

(Male  .... 

Dutch: 

Stall  and  pen 

3 

5 

3 

1,400 

560 

400 

466.66 

\  Female.. 
Male  .... 

Total 

8 

3 

1,400 

Red  Lincoln: 

3 

8 

Stall  and  pen 

8 

1.040 

130 

130 

[Female.. 

130.00 

Total 

11 

....Male  .... 


Red  Polled: 
Pen. 

1 





Total 

2,068 

1.402 

1,007,695 

ANIMAL    INDUSTRY    OF    ARGENTINA. 


21 


Condensed  statement  of  sales  of  lire  stock  in  the  Septeinber-October  exposition,  Buenos  Aires, 

i^£>^— Continued. 


HORSES. 


Number 
exhib- 
ited. 

Number 

Amount  of 

Highest 

Lowest 

Average 

sold. 

sales. 

price. 

price. 

price. 

Saddle: 

Stall 

Male  .... 
Female.. 

fMale  .... 

9 
1 

2 

$2, 050 

fi,8{;o 

S250 

81,025.00 

Light  draft: 

Stall 

57 

28 

23, 620 

2,050 

270 

843.57' 

[Female.. 

1 

1 

360 

350 

a50 

aw.  00 

Pen 

Female.. 

52 

16 

2,080 

130 

130 

130.00 

Heavy  draft: 

Stall 

(Male  .... 
[Female.. 

109 

7 

83 

54,390 

2,400 

110 

(555.30 

Pen 

Female.. 

78 

69 

6,759 

155 

100 

97.97 

Total 

314 

199 

89,249 

■     1                             .     .. 

r  ■ 

Rambonillet 


Lincoln 


Shropshire 


Oxfordshire . 


Hampshire . 


(Male  .... 

[Female..' 

(Male  .... 

[Female..; 

(Male  ....; 
'[Female..! 

(Male  ....j 
'[Female..! 

(Male  ...-• 
'[Female..  I 


304 

121 

832 

123 

105 

35 

60 

5 

59 

74 


Total. 


1,718 


213 
51 

375 
84 


76,923 
3,220 

84, 371 

4,150 

8,220 

350 

6,844 


7,900 
2,250 


2,000 

50 

150 

40 

1,600 

35 

210 

30 

500 

40 

70 

70 

600 

.50 

600 

100 

59 

50 

MISCELLANEOUS. 


;!61. 13 
63.13 

224. 98 
49.40 
£2.35 
70.00 

220. 77 


354.83 
50.00 


Pigs Male.. 

Poultry 

Dogs 

Grand  total  for  the  show 


136 
12 


4,256 


2,562 


280 
315 


1,291,797 


THE    HERDBOOKS   AND    FI.OCKBOOKS   OF   ARGENTINA. 

The  Rural  Societ}'  controLs  all  the  herdbooks  and  flockbooks  in 
the  country.  The  Shorthorn  herdbook  was  started  about  thirty 
years  ago  by  several  breeders  and  remained  a  private  concern  until  a 
little  more  than  two  years  ago,  when  it  was  purchased  by  the  Rural 
Society.  The  Hereford  herdbook  was  purchased  by  this  society 
several  years  ago,  as  was  also  that  of  the  Red  Lincolns.  The  Polled 
Angus  record  was  started  by  the  society  six  or  seven  years  ago. 
There  are  no  rival  herdbooks,  and  the  registration  in  the  society's 
books  is  recognized  everywhere  in  the  country. 

There  is  a  commission  of  three  members  for  each  breed.  Each 
member  holds  office  for  two  years  and  is  eligible  for  reelection.  This 
commission  passes  upon  all  applications  for  registration,  and  though 
an  appeal  may  be  taken  to  the  general  board  of  the  society,  this  has 


22  BUREAU    OF    ANIMAL    INDUSTRY. 

never  l)een  done  but  once,  when  the  commission  was  sustained.  The 
commission  has  power  to  send  inspectors  to  the  "cabafia''  (breeding 
establishment)  to  verify  the  chiim  made  in  the  api)lication  for  regis- 
tration, but  this  also  has  never  been  done. 

Until  now  any  animal  that  was  entitled  to  icgisti-ation  in  the 
Coates's  herdbook  of  Enghmd  was  admitted  to  registration  in  the 
"Herdbook  Argentina."  After  a  long  and  spirited  discussion  the 
directors  of  the  society  decided  that  hereafter  no  imported  Shorthorn 
can  be  registered  in  the  Herdbook  Argentina  unless  the  lirst  dam  and 
sire  of  the  same  inscribed  in  the  pedigree  were  recorded  prior  to  the 
year  1850.  The  argument  used  to  bring  about  this  restriction,  which 
shuts  out  many  bulls  that  have  been  going  to  Argentina  from  P^ngland, 
was  that  so  long  as  the  Argentine  breeders  were  not  permitted  to 
register  grade  Shorthorns  after  many  years  of  crossing  and  improving, 
English  breeders  should  not  be  permitted  to  register  animals  of  five 
crosses. 

Many  breeders  are  in  favor  of  establishing  a  second  herdl)ook — a 
preparatory  record — in  which  should  be  inscribed  grad(>d  animals 
after  a  certain  number  of  crosses,  these  animals  to  be  eligible  to  entry 
in  the  regular  herdbook  after  a  certain  number  of  additional  crosses. 
But  these  were  outvoted  when  the  recent  regulation  was  mad(?. 

The  beef  producer,  he  who  is  thinking  only  of  producing  good  steers, 
is  not  particular  about  the  pedigrees  of  his  bulls.  He  looks  to  the 
individual  merits  of  the  bulls  he  is  ))uying  tirst,  then  seeks  to  know 
what  breeder  they  came  from,  and,  lastly,  perhaps,  to  ascertain  what 
sort  of  ancestors  they  had.  He  wants  the  bull  in  order  to  raise  steers 
and  has  no  use  for  the  pedigree. 

There  are  probably  not  more  than  fifty  breeders  in  Argentina  who 
are  familiar  with  pedigrees  and  families  and  take  these  into  prime  con- 
sideration in  buying  bulls.  Until  very  recently  the  Argentines  were 
thinking  wholly  of  ])eef.  They  prefer  deep  reds  and  dark  roans 
because,  they  say,  the  lighter  colors  fade  out  and  look  very  bad  in 
their  country. 

The  certificate  of  the  recognized  herdbook  in  any  country  will  be 
recognized  in  Argentina  by  the  Rural  Society,  provided  the  animals 
presented  for  registration  comph*  with  the  conditions  stated.  The 
American  Shorthorn  Herd  Book  has  been  recognized  there  before,  and 
so  has  the  Hereford  Register.  Between  the  years  1870  and  1887  many 
Herefords  were  brought  to  Argentina  from  the  United  States.  The 
certificates  of  pedigree  must  be  indorsed  by  the  Argentine  consul  in 
the  port  from  which  the  animals  are  shipped.  Animals  must  be  regis- 
tered within  one  year  after  their  ]>irth  or  importation  in  the  country. 
The  fee  for  the  registration  of  cattle  is  $5  for  each  animal  liorn  in  the 
country  and  $10  for  each  imported  animal  for  members  of  the  Rural 
Societ}^  and  twice  these  amounts  for  those  not  members. 


ANIMAL   INDUSTRY    OF    ARGENTINA.  28 

The  flockbooks  are  held  in  small  repute  by  the  sheep  breeders;  not 
that  they  are  not  perfectly  regular  and  of  a  high  standard,  but  the 
breeders  as  a  rule  do  not  think  it  worth  while  to  register  their  animals, 
particularly  ewes.  Only  about  half  a  dozen  breeders  register  regu- 
larly. Rams  must  come  prepared  to  register,  in  case  the  certificates 
should  be  called  for,  but  frequently  buyers  do  not  ask  for  them,  par- 
ticularly if  they  know  the  reputation  of  the  place  they  came  from. 
If  from  the  United  States,  the  certificates  would  undoubtedly  be 
demanded.  The  flockbooks  are  based  on  the  English  requirements, 
and  the  fee  for  registration  is  $1  for  individuals  and  50  cents  per  he^d 
where  the  registration  is  collective,  and  double  these  amounts  for 
imported  animals.  Nonmembers  pay  double  fees.  The  registration 
in  the  flockbooks  is  increasing,  but  it  will  very  likely  be  slow. 

The  herdbooks  and  flockbooks  are  in  charge  of  a  competent  Eng- 
lishman, Mr.  H.  Bruce  Perc}  ,  who  acts  as  secretar}'  to  all  the  commis- 
sions, and  is  in  personal  charge  of  the  office  in  the  Rural  Society's 
building  in  Buenos  Aires. 

An  arbitration  board  for  the  settlement  of  disputes  among  the 
members  without  going  into  court  is  one  of  the  benefits  open  to  the 
members  of  the  Argentine  Rural  Society.  Disputes  between  mem- 
bers, or  between  a  member  and  an  outsider,  may  be  submitted  to  this 
tribunal,  which  is  composed  of  some  of  the  best  men  in  the  country. 
But  both  must  agree  to  submit  to  the  decision  of  the  board,  and  if  a 
member  violates  the  decision  he  is  expelled  and  posted  in  disgrace. 
This  board  was  started  about  ten  jears  ago  and  afterwards  abandoned, 
as  very  few  took  much  interest  in  it.  About  two  3'ears  ago  it  was 
revived,  but  still  it  is  but  little  patronized.  An  effort  was  then  made 
to  make  it  compulsor}'  for  both  parties  to  a  dispute,  if  members  of  the 
society,  to  submit  their  contention  to  arbitration,  which  is  free  of  cost, 
if  either  part}'  desired  it:  but  this  failed. 

WHAT  ARGENTINE  BREEDERS  WANT. 

An  annual  exhibition  of  breeding  stock  ))y  the  Argentine  Rural 
Society  will  be  held  during  the  latter  part  of  September  and  the  first 
half  of  October,  1904.  At  that  time  the  Rural  Societj^'s  show  will 
probably  be  an  international  one,  and  imported  animals  may  be  shown 
on  the  grounds;  this  is  not  permitted  when  the  show  is  only  national, 
us  it  is  this  year,  and  imported  animals  can  not  be  shown  for  prizes  or 
admitted  to  the  show  grounds.  Shipments  should  be  made  from  New 
York  not  later  than  Juh'  1  to  15. 

The  English  ports  were  opened  to  Argentine  live  stock  on  Februarj^ 
3,  1903,  after  having  been  closed  nearh'  three  years.  A  slight  out- 
break of  foot-and-mouth  disease  on  three  estancias  caused  the  Argen- 
tine Government  to  close  its  ports  to  export  animals  on  May  9,  1903, 
pending  the  eradication  of  this  malady,  but  this  ma}'  not  last  more  than 


24  BUREAU    OF    ANIMAL    INDUSTRY. 

a  few  months.  The  Argfontine  Government  now  (June,  1JK)3)  claims 
that  the  disease  no  longer  exists  in  the  country'  and  is  at  present  seek- 
ing readmission  to  British  markets  for  live  animals.  The  three  months 
during  which  the  export  trade  went  on  stimulated  prices  and  taught 
the  producers  of  fat  cattle  and  sheep  that  they  can  only  hope  to  com- 
pete with  the  United  States  by  producing  the  best  animals  and  prepar- 
ing them  in  the  best  possible  manner. 

The  danger  of  war  with  Chile  appears  to  be  past  and  capital  is  being 
more  freely  invested  in  the  country.  Agricultural  and  stock-breeding 
operations  are  being  and  will  be  carried  on  with  more  certainty  every 
year,  as  the  conditions  are  being  studied  and  fewer  mistakes  are  being 
made;  hence  greater  profits  and  more  money  to  invest  in  improve- 
ments of  all  kinds.  Last  year  was  a  bad  time,  as  much  uncertaintj' 
prevailed.  The  markets  were  limited  to  the  local  demands  and  three 
freezing  plants  and  one  chilled-meat  concern,  with  what  could  be 
worked  up  in  the  way  of  live-animal  trade  in  South  Africa,  Spain, 
Portugal,  and  Brazil,  all  of  which  was  not  much.  Of  course,  there 
were  the  saladeros  (salting  establishments),  the  makers  of  tasajo  (jerked 
beef),  but  these  showed  a  heavy  falling  off  during  1902.  But  now  the 
country  exhibits  every  indication  of  a  boom.  The  price  of  country 
property  has  advanced  30  per  cent  within  the  3'ear,  and  there  is  little 
dissent  from  the  opinion  that  these  values  will  be  maintained.  Alfalfa 
is  taking  the  place  of  the  unproductive  wheat  fields,  and  cattle  are 
wanted  to  eat  the  alfalfa,  though  nnich  of  it  is  exported.  Two 
additional  chilled-meat  establishments  are  in  process  of  building  and 
others  are  in  prospect,  while  some  of  those  already  in  existence  are 
being  enlarged.  New  areas  are  being  opened  up  at  the  southwest, 
new  railway  lines  are  in  projection  both  north  and  south,  and  all  this 
means  a  demand  for  l)etter  and  more  cattle.  The  same  is  true  of 
sheep.  A  change  is  taking  place,  as  so  well  told  by  Mr.  Herbert 
Gibson  in  a  contribution  to  this  report.  A  demand  is  felt  which  the 
United  States  can  supply — that  is,  for  good  mutton  sheep. 

PKEFEKENCE    FOR   HnORTHORNS. 

A  glance  at  the  report  of  sales  at  the  last  show,  given  in  detail 
elsewhere,  indicates  the  overwhelming  preponderance  of  Shorthorns 
in  Argentina.  Of  all  the  cattle  there  exhibited  (2,007),  1,824  were 
Shorthorns,  and  of  the  total  amount  of  cattle  sales  (H, 007, 605),  the 
Shorthorns  brought  $932,581.  This  is  a  fair  indication  of  the  pref- 
erence of  estancieros  in  the  country.  The  influence  of  this  great  major- 
ity of  Shorthorn  breeders  is  so  great  that  it  is  difficult  to  introduce  any 
other  breed,  and  other  breeds  do  not  have  the  same  fair  chance  that 
they  would  if  they  had  more  supporters.  There  are,  to  be  sure,  many 
breeders  and  advocates  of  the  Hereford  as  an  animal  of  superior  hardi- 
ness, good  health,  feeding  qualities  under  adverse  conditions,  and  a 


ANIMAL   INDUSTRY    OF    ARGENTINA.  25 

sure  breeder.  It  is  generally  admitted  that  the  Hereford  is  better  for 
poor  camps  than  the  Shorthorn,  and  that  he  is  much  better  able  to 
endure  hardship.  In  most  of  the  tests  for  fat  steers  the  Hereford  has 
shown  a  greater  percentage  of  net  beef,  winning  the  championship  in 
the  May  show  of  the  Rural  Society  for  four  consecutive  j^ears.  The 
oV)jection  made  to  him  is  that  he  does  not  produce  a  marketable  fat 
steer  as  soon  as  the  Shorthorn.  It  is  claimed  that  in  the  good  camps, 
on  alfalfa  or  the  best  native  grasses,  the  Shorthorn  is  ready  for  market 
six  months  sooner  and,  age  for  age,  produces  a  heavier,  finer-grained 
animal.  So  that  it  is  better  at  this  time  to  take  Shorthorns  to  that 
market  than  an}^  other  sort  of  animal. 

Argentine  breeders  have  not  gone  in  for  an}-  special  strain  of  Short- 
horns, except  that  now  the  tremendous  impetus  given  to  the  dairj'  indus- 
try makes  the  milk  strains  popular,  as,  for  instance,  those  of  the  Bates 
famil}'.  At  present  the  Cruikshank  Shorthorns  predominate  largely. 
While  breeders  there  will  look  very  carefully  to  see  that  the  pedigree 
is  all  right,  they  bu}^  on  their  individual  judgment  of  the  merits  of  ani- 
mals offered  leather  than  on  the  certificates  of  pedigree  that  go  with 
them.  The  Shorthorn  bulls  must  be  short  in  the  legs,  deep  and  long 
in  the  body,  with  a  good  head,  full,  wide  chest,  well-laid  shoulders, 
strong  loins,  and  well-sprung  ribs,  covered  with  deep,  mellow  flesh, 
full  hind  quarters;  and  his  color  will  please  best  if  it  is  a  deep  red  or 
roan,  preferably  the  former.  Special  stress  is  laid  on  the  head  there. 
Bulls  should  be  from  2  to  3  years  of  age,  but  not  less  than  18  months  old. 

DEMAND    FOR    COWS. 

Some  first-class  Shorthorn  cows,  especially  those  known  to  be  good 
milkers,  and  heifers  of  good  milking  and  beef  antecedents,  will  be  sure 
to  bring  long  prices,  for  they  are  very  much  wanted.  It  was  notice- 
able at  the  Ruml  Society's  show  that  the  very  limited  number  of  cows 
shown  were  of  inferior  quality  compared  with  the  bulls.  To  be  sure, 
breeders  do  not  like  to  take  fine  cows  to  the  show,  because  they  must 
be  fattened  more  than  is  good  for  them,  and  the  inducement  is  not 
sufficient,  as  they  do  not  desire  to  sell  them.  A  good  bull  may  alwa3^s 
be  had  with  a  fourth  of  the  effort  required  to  find  an  equall}'  good 
cow.  Notice  that  while  233  high-grade  bulls  were  sold,  only  6  cows 
were  sold  in  that  class.  The  238  Shorthorn  cows  sold  were  of  the 
corral,  or  rougher,  class,  and  yet  the}^  sold  for  an  avei^age  of  $235,  or 
$103  United  States  money.  The  young  bulls  of  the  same  class  brought 
an  average  of  $510,  or  $224  gold,  and  it  must  be  remembered  that  a 
great  number  of  these  were  not  purebred,  and  so  had  no  pedigree. 
The}'  were  bought  wholly  on  their  individual  merits,  and  many  of 
them  brought  from  $1,500  to  $2,000.  If  the  cows  had  been  of  equal 
quality  they  would  have  brought  much  more  than  they  did. 

These  mestizo  cows  were,  in  fact,  rather  inferior,  and  were    the 


26 


BUREAU    OF    ANIMAL    INDUSTRY. 


second  or  third  choice  of  the  herds  from  which  they  came.  Often 
they  were  merely  the  pick  of  j^eneral  camp  stock,  and  most  of  them 
had  no  pedigree  whatever. 

The  uniformity  of  the  exhibits  of  some  of  the  better  breeders  was 
an  indication  that  they  were  paying  more  attention  to  the  selection  of 
dams,  recognizing  the  folly  of  wasting  expensive  bulls  on  poor  cows. 
A  very  good  authority  on  the  selling  qualities  of  breeding  stock  in 
Argentina  says:  . 

There  is  a  good  demand  for  superior  cows,  providing  they  be  of  conditions  to  enter 
the  Argentine  Herdbook.  During  the  year  1902  all  pedigree  cows,  even  inferior 
and  old  ones,  were  sold  at  very  good  prices.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  there  is  a  buyer 
for  every  Shorthorn  cow,  not  necessarily  a  choice  speciuien,  but  of  good  type  and 
antecedents.  Cows  to  bring  top  prices  here  must  be  strong  in  the  hind  quarters; 
they  must  have  unmistakable  beef  qualities. 

As  indicated  elsewhere  in  the  reference  to  the  dairy  industry,  there 
is  a  demand  for  some  thoroughly  good  sires  of  the  dairj'  breeds,  except 
Jerse3%s,  and  a  few  notably  good  cows.  The  Holsteins  seem  destined 
to  play  an  important  part  in  the  future  of  the  Argentine  cattle-breed- 
ing industry,  and  so  are  the  Flemish  cattle,  neither  of  which  can  now 
be  imported  into  this  countr}'  from  Europe.  The  strength  of  the 
Holsteins  in  the  United  States  ought  to  give  the  breeders  of  that  race 
a  good  chance  in  Argentina. 

OTHER   BREEDS. 

Herefords  will  not  bring  high  prices  there,  compared  with  Short- 
horns, though  an  animal  that  would  command  favorable  attention,  a 
really  great  sire,  would  probably  fetch  $5,000,  equal  to  $2,200  United 
States  money,  or  possibh'  a  little  more.  A  criticism  that  is  often  made 
of  the  Argentine  herds  other  than  Shorthorns  is  the  lack  of  really 
great  individual  sires.  There  are  breeders  of  Herefords,  Holsteins, 
and  Aberdeen- Angus  who  will  recognize  and  buy,  regardless  of  price, 
bulls  of  the  highest  merit,  but  will  not  look  at  an  ordinar}"  animal. 
As  the  importer  of  these  breeds  nuist  look  to  the  best  breeders  for  his 
customers,  he  umst  be  able  to  satisfy  them. 

The  following  shows  a  comparison  of  the  prices  obtiiined  for  Short- 
horns and  Herefords  for  three  years  past  in  the  Rural  Society's  sales 
in  October: 


Prices  of  purebred 

tiiid  (jrade  Shorlhoriig  and  Herefords, 

1900-1902. 

Year. 

Pedigree       Pedigree 
Shorthorns.  Herefords. 

Grade 
Shorthorns. 

Grjjde 
Herefords. 

1900 

«1,789 
2,277 
2,891 

$895 
1,937 
1,344 

8447 

486 
524 

«:«J2 

1901 

475 

1902               .             .      ^      

297 

It  is  hardly  fair  to  the  Herefords  to  make  such  a  comparison  with- 
out making  allowance  for  several  influences  on  the  prices  obtained.     In 


ANIMAL   INDUSTRY    OF   ARGENTINA.  27 

1901  the  Herefords  were  of  a  better  class  than  in  1902,  though  the 
number  of  bidders  was  greater  in  the  latter  year.  So  few  animals 
were  presented  that  one  or  two  high  prices  paid  for  individuals  in  1901 
affected  the  average.  Mr.  Eduai-do  BuUrich,  a  man  well  informed  on 
live-stock  matters,  gives  the  following  opinion  concerning  Herefords, 
being  the  result  of  years  of  close  observation  among  breeders  and 
estancieros: 

The  Hereford  is  a  breed  which,  for  its  adaptability  to  range  conditions,  hardy  con- 
stitution, courage,  and  perseverance,  combined  with  ideal  grazing  properties,  will 
make  its  way  in  our  country  as  well  as  any  other  beef  breed,  though  perhaps  slowly. 

The  Polled  Angus  is  making  headway  and,  though  but  little  known, 
is  giving  results  that  are  attracting  attention.  In  a  circular  letter  to 
estancieros  advising  them  what  to  breed  for  the  new  chilled-beef  estab- 
lishment at  La  Plata,  the  manager,  Mr.  Daniel  Kingsland,  puts  Polled 
Angus  second  only  to  Shorthorns.  The  breed  is  well  adapted  to  the 
tine  pasturage  of  the  valuable  inside  camps,  as  well  as  to  the  rougher 
regions  where  its  vigorous  constitution  enables  it  to  thri\  e  under  con- 
ditions that  would  interfere  with  success  with  Shorthorns.  Some 
magnificent  steers  have  appeared  in  the  export  markets  from  the 
Polled  Angus  growers.  It  would  not  be  wise,  however,  to  bring  to 
this  market  as  an  experiment  more  than  one  Polled  Angus  bull. 

Some  first-class  Polled  Durham  or  Red  Polled  bulls  ought  to  find 
ready  buyers,  for  they  have  admirers;  and  there  is  a  tendencj^  among 
some  breeders  to  dehorn  and  to  strive  to  produce  hornless  cattle.  The 
advantages  in  shipping  and  handling  are  sutficient  to  pay  for  consider- 
able effort  and  expense.  Dehorning  is  not  much  practiced,  however, 
especially  upon  grown  animals.  There  is  a  strong  prejudice  against  it 
on  humanitarian  grounds.  Some  breeders  and  shippers  claim  that  it 
is  an  advantage  to  have  the  horns  in  handling  cattle  on  shipboard. 

PROFITS   OF   IMPORTERS. 

About  three  years  ago  an  English  importer  bought  a  fine  young 
dark-roan  Shorthorn  bull  at  the  Belfast  fair  in  Ireland  for  £105 
($510.98)  and  brought  it  with  others  to  Buenos  Aires,  where  the 
animals  were  sold  at  auction.  This  young  bull.  Farrier,  attracted  the 
fanc}^  of  Senor  Leonardo  Pereyra,  one  of  the  most  successful  and  one 
of  the  richest  breeders  in  the  country.  His  estancia,  San  Juan,  is 
the  show  place  of  the  country,  only  an  hour's  ride  from  Buenos  Aires. 
Here  he  has  5  leagues,  or  nearly  31,000  acres,  and  in  various  other 
parts  of  the  country  he  owns  a  total  of  80  leagues  and  many  thousand 
cattle.  The  San  Juan  place  is  the  old  home  place,  where  his  father 
began  the  improvement  of  his  stock  more  than  fifty  years  ago,  and  is 
used  only  for  breeding  stock.  Thirty  to  forty  men  are  employed  to 
care  for  the  beautiful  park  which  he  maintains  there.  Senor  Pereyra 
breeds  Shorthorn  and  Hereford  cattle,  Lincoln  and  Merino  sheep,  and 


28  BUREAU    OF   ANIMAL   INDUSTRY. 

various  breeds  of  horses — always  winning  many  prizes  at  the  shows 
and  getting  the  top  prices  for  the  animals  he  sells. 

All  this  by  way  of  preface  to  the  ,sale  of  the  handsome  roan  Short- 
horn bull  that  pleased  Senor  Pereyra.  He  pleased  others  also,  so 
that  the  price  went  up  to  $15,700,  or  $6,751  United  States  money, 
before  the  other  bidders  were  willing  to  quit  and  let  Sefior  Pereyra 
have  the  bull.  He  has  always  been  well  pleased  with  his  bargain,  for 
Farrier  has  given  him  about  230  fine  calves,  among  them  a  prize 
winner  this  season,  a  red  bull  that  was  second  only  to  one  other  in  the 
show  in  the  contest  for  the  championship  of  Shorthorns.  This  bull 
sold  for  $11,000,  or  more  than  the  champion.  In  the  show  were  8  or 
10  others  of  Farrier's  sons,  of  which  4  were  sold— for  $900,  $3,200, 
and  2  for  $4,200,  respectively — the  total  sales  of  Senor  Pereyra  from 
this  bull  alone  being  $23,500  in  the  auction  sales  in  this  one  show. 
Others  of  Farrier's  get  were  reserved  from  sale. 

The  tremendous  profit  realized  by  the  importer  of  this  bull  is  not  a 
matter  of  surprise,  though  a  little  larger  than  is  often  earned.  Many 
bulls  are  bought  in  England  for  .£1:0  and  sold  in  the  Argentine  spring 
sales  for  from  $3,000  to  17,000  paper,  or  from  six  to  fourteen  times 
what  they  cost  in  England.  Often  breeders  in  Argentina  order  bulls 
sent  out  from  England  or  Scotland  on  commission;  that  is,  buyers  in 
England,  familiar  with  the  countrj'  and  the  wants  of  the  Argentine 
breeders,  especially  their  clients,  attend  the  English  sales  and  buy  on 
the  order  of  the  Argentine  breeders,  receiving  a  good  commission  for 
their  services.  This  generally  results  in  the  English  breeder  getting 
better  prices  for  his  animals,  for  the  agent  of  the  Argentine  breeder 
knows  his  client  expects  to  pay  a  handsome  price,  and  when  he  finds  an 
animal  that  he  thinks  will  suit  he  bids  till  he  gets  it.  When  two  or 
three  of  these  buyers  come  together,  it  is  a  fine  thing  for  the  English 
breeder.  Those  who  buy  on  speculation  on  their  own  accoiuit  for  sale  at 
auction  in  Argentina  look  about  for  good  animals,  which  can  be  bought 
cheap  and  sold  on  their  individual  merits;  and  they  are  very  successful  in 
the  business.  Only  a  short  time  ago  the  bull  Ro3'al  Duke  was  bought  on 
order  from  the  herd  of  the  King  of  England  for  an  Argentine  breeder, 
Senor  Manuel  Jose  Cobo,  for  £800,  and  the  bull,  l)eing  old  and  in  poor 
health,  died  on  shipboard,  insured  for  >£1,200. 

When  the  Argentine  ports  were  closed  to  importations  from  Eng- 
land, a  clever  English  importer  went  to  the  United  States  and  bought 
a  lot  of  bulls,  mostly  those  that  had  been  ])rought  previously  from 
England  or  Scotland,  and  started  for  Buenos  Aires  with  them.  Some 
of  his  rivals  heard  of  it,  and  the  ports  were  closed  to  animals  from 
the  States  on  the  representation  that  he  was  bringing  animals  from  Eng- 
land to  the  United  States  to  be  reshipped  to  Buenos  Aires.  This  decree 
was  issued  the  day  before  his  animals  left  New  York,  but  no  advice  was 
sent  to  New  York,  and  he  sailed  in  ignorance  of  it.     The  result  was 


•      ANIMAL   INDUSTRY    OF    ARGENTINA.  29 

that  the  animals  lay  in  Montevideo  for  eighteen  months  or  more,  until 
they  could  be  admitted  here.  A  bull  named  Brave  Archer  was  bought 
in  Chicago  for  $240  United  States  money.  He  had  been  brought  from 
Scotland  about  a  year  before,  and  though  he  was  a  -i-year-old,  he  sold 
in  Buenos  Aires  last  year  for  16,800. 

Some  recent  importations  of  light-roan  Shorthorns  from  Scotland 
sold  at  $1,400  to  $2,500,  it  bein^  the  wrong  time  to  offer  them,  and 
part  of  them  were  withdrawn  for  later  sale.  They  were  not  extraor- 
dinary animals — some  of  them  being  verj'  ordinary — and  the  prices 
realized  gave  the  importers  a  snug  profit. 

In  1887  some  Virginia  breeders  sent  a  large  consignment  of  Short- 
horns here,  and  they  realized  very  handsome  prices  for  them,  the  leading 
bull  bringing  $12,000.  They  enjoyed  a  good  business,  but  the  revolu- 
tion in  1890  brought  it  to  an  end. 

HIGH    PRICES    FOK    ORDINARY'    ANIMALS. 

The  following  recital  of  the  disposition  of  a  certain  shipment  of 
cattle  is  full  of  suggestion:  The  shipment  consisted  of  1  bull,  born 
March  7,  1900,  14  heifers  and  cows  from  2  to  2^  years  old,  one  of  them 
a  cow  with  a  3'^oung  calf,  and  one  8-months-old  calf.  Two  of  the  heifers 
were  ineligible  for  registr}^  in  the  Argentine  herdbook;  one  of  these 
sold  for  $600  and  the  other  was  withdrawn.  The  heifer  calf  8  months 
old  was  sold  for  $500.  The  bull  was  a  rather  good  animal,  a  deep  red, 
a  little  rough  in  shape  and  faulty  in  the  head,  and  a  trifle  faulty  in  the 
hind  quarters,  but  in  excellent  condition,  strong,  and  well  developed, 
and  he  sold  for  $3,500.  The  general  comment  among  those  present 
was  that  he  was  a  very  good  bull  for  breeding  steers,  but  not  good 
enough  for  a  sire  of  breeding  animals.  The  heifers,  with  one  or  two 
exceptions,  were  very  inferior.  They  were  mosth'  roans,  Avith  two  or 
three  reds.  Thej^  had  suffered  from  long  voyages  and  the  unfavorable 
conditions  at  Las  Palmas,  where  they  spent  eight  months  after  having 
once  been  rejected  at  Buenos  Aires  because  they  arrived  with  foot- 
and-mouth  disease.  The}"  were  very  "leggy,"  a  fault  quickly  to  be 
noticed  in  Argentina,  and  most  of  them  were  bad  in  other  respects, 
particularly  in  the  hind  quarters.  The}'  were  all  bred  to  good  bulls, 
and,  being  young  and  of  good  breeding,  familiar  to  the  bidders,  and 
brought  by  a  well-known  importer,  they  brought  astonishingly  good 
prices.  The  lowest  price  was  $1,000,  the  highest  $2,000,  and  the  aver- 
age for  12  was  $1,490.  They  were  offered  at  a  very  bad  season  when 
very  few  care  to  buy.  If  they  had  been  offered  at  the  time  of  the  Sep- 
tember show,  they  would  undoubtedly  have  brought  considerably  more. 

If  these  animals,  which  in  this  country  would  have  been  slow  sale 
at  $150  to  $200  United  States  money,  and  might  have  gone  for  less, 
could  be  sold  at  an  unfavorable  time  for  such  good  prices,  what  would 
be  realized  for  tiptop  cows,  such  as  could  be  sent  from  the  United 


30  BUKEAIT    OF    ANIMAL    INDUSTRY. 

States?  There  i.s  no  doubt  jibout  there  bcinj^  a  jrood  })u.sines.s  in  tak- 
ing Huch  excellent  animals  there.  The  country  is  simply  hungry  for 
good  breeding  animals,  especially  Shorthorns,  and  cows  will  be  par- 
ticuhirly  acceptable,  l)ecause  they  are  badl}'  needed. 

FAT-STOCK    AND    HORSE    SHOW. 

For  sevei'al  years  the  Rural  Society  has  given  a  show  in  Ma}-  for 
horses,  fat  cattle,  and  sheep.  It  is  primarily  a  horse  fair,  as  the  sales 
are  chiefly  of  horses.  It  is  a  combination  of  market  and  competition 
for  prizes,  and  many  animals  are  l)rought  to  the  show  to  be  sold,  not 
being  entered  for  ])rizes.  This  show  was  to  be  combined  with  the  new 
agricultural  fair  this  year  (see  p.  13). 

Interest  centers  in  the  competition  among  the  Shorthorns  for  the 
championship,  although  for  four  years  prior  to  1902  the  champion  fat 
steers  were  Herefords.  This  is  the  more  remarkable  because  of  the 
comparatively  small  number  of  Herefords  bred  in  the  country.  In 
the  1902  show  there  wore  twenty  lots  of  8  steers  each  competing  in 
the  Shorthorn  class  and  only  two  lots  of  8  each  in  the  Hereford,  Polled 
Angus,  and  Holstein  classes.  For  the  Hereford  to  win  under  these 
circumstances,  with  the  great  preponderance  of  opinion  against  him 
among  the  breeders,  and  hence  among  the  judges,  has  been  a  source  of 
much  satisfaction  to  the  champions  of  the  breed.  In  the  last  show  the 
championship  was  won  by  the  Shorthorns,  but  the  block  test  that  was 
made  after  the  award,  after  the  animals  were  sold  and  slaughtered  by 
one  of  the  chilled-beef  companies,  was  against  the  Shorthorns  and  in 
favor  of  the  Herefords. 

The  average  weight  of  the  160  Shorthorns  shown,  aged  about  42 
months,  was  780  kilos,  or  1,719  pounds.  They  were  sold  at  auction 
at  prices  ranging  from  $110  to  $310  per  animal,  and  were  bought 
for  export,  as  all  good  fat  steers  were  then,  hy  the  frozen-meat  and 
chilled-meat  establishments.  This  is  equivalent  to  $48.40  to  $136.40 
United  States  money.  The  average  price  was  $187.75,  or  $82.61 
United  States  money,  or  $4.80  per  hundredweight  liv^e  weight.  These 
are  extraordinary  prices  for  prize  animals,  carefully  prepared.  The 
lowest  weight  was  1,531  pounds  and  the  highest  2,008. 

The  Herefords  averaged  in  weight  1,815  pounds  and  sold  for  an 
average  of  $200,  or  $88  United  States  money.  The  Polled  Angus, 
with  an  average  weight  of  1,318  pounds,  sold  for  an  average  of  $90. 
The  Holsteins  showed  an  average  weight  of  1,478  pounds  and  brought 
an  average  price  of  $97.50. 

The  first-prize  Shorthorns,  the  ones  that  won  the  championship  of 
all  breeds,  weighed  an  average  of  1,931  pounds,  and  one  lot  of  8 
brought  $310  each  and  the  other  $270.  When  slaughtered  they 
dressed  out  ()2.2  per  cent  of  net  beef.  The  second-prize  Shorthorns, 
composed  of  three  lots  of  8  each,  averaged  in  weight  1,885  pounds, 


ANIMAL   INDUSTRY    OF    ARGENTINA.  31 

and  they  sold  for  an  average  of  $207.  They  dressed  out" 62.8  per  cent 
of  net  beef.  The  third-prize  group  of  Shorthorns  were  the  heaviest, 
averaging  2,008  pounds,  but  the  animals  were  marked  off  by  the 
judges  for  excess  of  fat  and  for  other  reasons.  They  were  sold  pri- 
vately for  $310  each,  the  same  price  as  the  champions.  No  block  test 
was  made  of  these  animals,  which  were  exported  alive  to  South  Africa. 

The  Herefords  made  a  tine  showing  when  slaughtered.  The  first 
prize  lot  weighed  an  average  of  1,821  pounds  and  sold  for  §205  each. 
They  dressed  out  65.01  per  cent  of  net  beef.  The  second  prize  Here- 
fords averaged  1,810  pounds  and  brought  $195  apiece,  giving  62.75 
per  cent  of  dressed  beef. 

No  block  tests  have  been  reported  on  the  Polled  Angus  and  Hol- 
steins,  but  the  former  were  not  regarded  as  exceptionally  good  animals 
and  no  prize  was  awarded  them. 

KIND   OF   CATTLE    FOR   EXPORT   AND   HOME    CONStTMl^ION. 

Prior  to  the  opening  of  the  British  ports  in  February,  11XJ3,  the 
best  grade  Shorthorn  steers  and  other  steers  that  could  grade  with 
them  were  bought  for  export  at  $75  to  $90  and  occasionally  a  little 
more  for  very  superior  animals.  When  the  English  ports  were  again 
closed  to  Argentine  live  stock  (May,  1903),  the  price  for  the  best 
grass-fed  steers  of  3  to  3i  years  old,  the  usual  selling  age  foi-  export, 
was  from  $85  to  $115.  There  was  a  good  demand;  in  fact,  more  than 
the  supply  could  meet  and  maintain  its  quality  for  export.  Not  5  per 
cent  of  these  steers  had  tasted  grain,  but  the  majority  of  them  had 
been  fattened  on  alfalfa  and  others  on  native  grasses.  This  quick 
production  and  the  ease  with  which  such  steers  are  sold  has  encroached 
a  little  more  every  year  upon  the  reserve  suppl}^;  that  is,  jounger 
animals  have  been  sold  for  export,  fewer  good  steers  are  killed  for 
home  consumption,  and  more  cows,  heifers,  and  calves,  as  well  as 
inferior  steers  and  oxen,  are  used  to  supph'^  the  home  markets. 
Thus  it  is  extremely  difficult  to  get  a  good  piece  of  beef  in  the  city 
of  Buenos  Aires.  None  of  the  best  fat  steers — "export  type,"  they 
are  called — are  brought  to  Buenos  Aires  to  be  sold,  or  at  least  so 
rareh^  that  the  local  markets  are  not  looked  to  for  any  part  of  the 
supply.  If  a  man  has  a  lot  of  good  steers  read}-  for  market,  he 
notifies  his  broker  in  Buenos  Aires,  who  notifies  the  buyers,  the  "fri- 
gorificos,"  and  the  exporters  of  live  cattle,  and  the  latter  send  their 
representatives  to  inspect  the  cattle.  Then  the  buj^ers  make  l)ids, 
either  through  the  inspectors  on  the  spot  or  through  the  brokers  in 
the  city.  Some  estancieros  get  along  without  brokers  and  do  lousiness 
directly  with  the  buyers.  The  prices  quoted  are  for  the  animals  on 
the  estancia,  and  it  costs  from  $8  to  $10  each  to  bring  them  to  Buenos 
Aires.  The  top  price  of  $115  is  but  rarely  paid.  The  usual  price  for 
the  best  animals  is  from  $100  to  $110,  and  still  more  are  sold  to  the 


32  BUREAU  OF  ANIMAL  INDUSTRY. 

frigorilicos  at  $85  to  $100.  Now  that  the  English  ports  arc  closed 
again,  there  is  a  decline  of  pei-haps  10  or  15  per  cent  in  the  prices  of 
the  best  steers.  These  animals  range  in  weight  from  1,225  to  1,425 
pounds,  giving  a  weight  of  700  to  800  pounds  of  net  beef,  exclusive 
of  head,  feet,  kidneys,  liver,  and  other  fat  and  offal.  The  marketH})le 
by-products  there  are  limited  and  there  is  much  more  waste  than  in 
the  great  packing  houses  in  the  United  States. 

The  freezing  works  prefer  steers  of  greater  age  because  of  their 
greater  weight,  but  there  is  scarcely  a  good  steer  in  the  country  that 
is  5  years  old  that  could  have  been  sold  younger.  Very  few  are  kept 
be3'ond  4  years;  selling  at  3  years  or  younger  is  happening  oftener, 
and  is  the  general  rule.  Formerh^  the  selling  age  was  4:^  years. 
Alfalfa  has  had  more  to  do  with  getting  the  animals  on  the  market  a 
year  younger  than  an}^  other  one  cause.  Cattle  for  the  export  trade 
are  shipped  to  Buenos  Aires,  450  to  750  miles,  but  the  cheaper  grades 
are  driven  at  least  a  good  part  of  the  distance,  as  they  will  not  stand 
the  freight  charges,  and  it  is  much  cheaper  to  drive  them  to  market. 
The  public  roads  in  Argentina  are  ver}^  Avide  on  this  account. 

ARGENTINE   STEERS   ARE   GRASS   OR   ALFALFA    FED. 

Corn-fed  animals  are  very  rarely,  almost  never,  seen.  The  prices 
paid  for  steers  by  the  frigoriticos.  which,  until  a  few  months  ago, 
furnished,  and  again  at  the  present  time  do  furnish,  almost  the  only 
market  for  good  steers,  did  not  warrant  an}-  -corn  feeding.  A  few 
years  ago,  before  the  English  ports  were  closed  to  Argentine  live 
cattle,  so-called  corn-fed  steers  brought  $5  to  $10  per  head  more  than 
those  that  had  not  received  any  grain.  But  these  were  not  really  corn- 
fed,  for  the}^  had  received  corn  and  dry  hay  for  a  month  or  so  only 
before  being  brought  to  market,  and  this  in  order  to  teach  them  to  eat 
it  on  the  voyage.  They  had  their  accustomed  alfalfa  or  grass  pasture 
during  the  day  and  the  corn  and  other  dr}'  feed  at  night.  This  system 
may  be  resumed  this  winter  if  the  price  of  corn  is  lower  than  it  is 
now.  At  present  producers  of  fat  steers  say  it  would  not  pay.  Corn 
is  now  selling  for  about  35  to  40  cents  United  States  money  per 
American  bushel  of  56  pounds.  It  is  claimed  by  man}'  Argentine 
breeders  and  feeders  that  the  alfalfa  and  grass-fed  beef  is  as  good  as 
corn-fed  beef,  but  the  best-informed  ones — those  who  know  the  differ- 
ence and  have  seen  both  kinds — realize  that  the  Argentine,  who  would 
get  the  best  price  for  his  steers  in  competition  with  those  from  the 
United  States,  must  finish  them  on  corn,  and  this  course  is  being  advo- 
cated b}'  man}'  who  predict  that  this  must  soon  come.  It  is  likely  to 
be  a  long  time,  however,  before  any  considerable  amoiuit  of  corn-fed 
Argentine  beef  will  find  its  way  abroad.  It  will  require  some  strong 
object  lessons  to  convince  the  great  mass  of  producers,  because  they  are 
doing  very  well  at  present;  and  imtil  they  see  Argentine  corn-fed  steers 


Bulletin  No.  48,  B.  A.  I. 


Plate  VI. 


Bulletin   No.  48,  B.  A.  I. 


Plate  VII. 


Bulletin   No.  48,  B.  A.  I. 


Plate  VIII. 


ANIMAL    INDUSTBY    OF    ARGENTINA.  33 

sold  in  England  for  a  much  higher  price  than  the  grass-fed  ones  they 
will  not  go  to  the  trouble  and  expense  of  feeding.  The  present  tend- 
ency toward  mixed  farming  may  bring  it  about  to  a  certain  extent, 
but  the  country  is  at  present  so  divided  into  ''  zones  "  for  this  and  that 
pui-pose  that  corn  raising  and  steer  feeding  are  not  ver}^  likel}'  to  be 
done  on  the  same  estancia  to  any  great  extent  for  several  years.  The 
increasing  demand  for  such  animals,  both  in  England  and  the  United 
States,  is  an  influence  which  will  sooner  or  later  bring  about  their  pro- 
duction in  Argentina,  where  they  can  undoubtedly  be  grown  for  many 
y-ears  very  cheaply.  Some  feeders  tried  corn  feeding  on  a  small  scale 
several  years  ago,  with  excellent  success,  but  they  had  difiiculty  in 
finding  any  buyer  in  Argentina  who  would  pay  the  difference.  One 
breeder  tried  the  sending  of  a  few  on  his  own  account,  and  he  says 
that  he  made  a  profit  of  over  $10  gold  per  head  after  charging  off  all 
possible  expense  for  feed  and  labor. 

THE    MANUFACTURE    OF   TASAJO    DP:CLINING. 

The  saladeros  are  showing  rapid  falling  off  in  their  production  of 
tasajo,  or  jerked  beef,  because  they  can  not  sell  their  product  at  a 
price  that  will  warrant  paying  the  prices  for  animals  in  competition 
with  the  frigoriticos,  the  beef-extract  factories,  the  export  trade,  or 
even  the  city  market.  One  great  factory  has  been  gradually  made 
over  from  a  jerked-meat  establishment  into  one  for  the  manufacture 
of  beef  extract,  for  which  a  better  quality  of  meat  is  used,  while  only 
the  parts  undesirable  for  beef  extract  are  used  for  tasajo.  One  of  these 
companies  has  just  paid  a  20  per  cent  dividend. 

MEAT    SUPPLY   OF    BUENOS   AIRES. 

• 

The  beef  supply  of  the  city  of  Buenos  Aires  comes  from  one  great 
market,  where  from  1,200  to  3,500  animals — steers,  oxen,  cows, 
heifers,  and  calves — are  brought  daily  and  sold  b}^  various  commission 
men  to  the  cit}'  butchers.  Part  of  the  sales  are  at  auction,  but  the 
majority  are  private.  The  killing  is  all  done  in  a  place  provided  by 
the  city  and  is  under  municipal  inspection.  Sheep  and  hogs,  as  well 
as  cattle,  are  all  killed  here,  each  man  killing  on  his  own  account. 
There  is  a  tremendous  waste,  especially  during  the  summer,  as  there 
is  no  refrigeration,  and  all  meat  is  sold  the  daj'  it  is  killed,  or  surely 
the  next  day.  Many  butchers  buy  carcasses  from  others  who  kill  by 
wholesale  and  supply  retailers.  If  the  retailer,  when  ordering  his 
supply  the  day  before,  overestimates  the  next  da3"'s  business,  he 
suffers  a  loss,  and  it  often  happens  that  the  price  of  meat  begins  to 
fall  before  noon  and  by  night  is  half  what  it  was  in  the  morning, 
especiall}^  if  the  day  has  been  warm.  The  meat,  besides  being  usually 
from  inferior  animals,  is  tough  and  stringy  and  full  of  water,  shrink- 

3369— No.  48—03 3 


34  BUREAU  OF  ANIMAL  INDUSTRY. 

ing  heavily  in  the  cooking.  It  has  had  no  time  to  cool,  and  being 
gmss-fed  is  wateiy.  Besides,  it  is  sold  by  the  chunk,  not  by  weight, 
and  is  cut  up  in  much  the  same  manner  as  meat  is  cut  for  dogs  or 
menagerie  beasts.  Such  a  thing  as  a  sirloin  or  porterhouse  steak  is 
unknown  in  Argentina.  The  carcasses  being  hacked  to  pieces  without 
regard  to  the  choice  cuts  and  sold  at  a  uniform  price  for  the  whole, 
good  and  bad,  makes  it  ver^^  difficult  to  get  a  good  piece,  though  some- 
times tender,  juicy  steaks  and  attractive  roasts  may  be  had  in  the 
best  restaurants  and  hotels,  but  it  is  by  no  means  a  sure  thing.  Several 
efforts  have  been  made  to  enforce  the  municipal  law  requiring  meat  to 
be  sold  by  the  kilo;  but  the  butchers  are  opposed  to  it,  and  customers 
who  demand  the  right  to  buy  by  the  kilo  soon  learn  that  it  does  not 
pay,  for  they  get  more  if  they  buy  by  the  piece.  All  these  conditions 
would  seem  to  offer  a  good  opening  for  a  modern  fresh-meat  estab- 
lishment in  the  cit}^  of  Buenos  Aires,  supplying  good  chilled  and 
seasoned  meat,  properly  cut  up,  with  more  economical  slaughtering 
and  according  to  better  methods. 

The  prices  obtained  at  the  Buenos  Aires  cattle  market  vary  greatly, 
according  to  the  qualit}^  of  the  animals  offered  and  the  daily  demands 
of  the  market.  For  steers  the  prices  run  from  $30  to  $75,  the  aver- 
age being  probabl}^  not  far  from  $50  to  |60.  For  oxen,  about  the 
same.  For  cows,  $20  to  $60,  with  occasionally  a  few  at  higher  prices — 
those  having  a  little  better  blood  that  have  been  picked  up  for  breed- 
ing. Heifers  sell  at  $14  to  |30  and  calves  for  from  $3  to  $18,  the 
average  being  somewhere  around  $8.  Many  of  the  cows,  heifers, 
calves,  and  steers  sold  in  this  market  are  not  slaughtered,  but  are 
bought  to  stock  other  estancias.  This  happens  very  often  at  the 
extremes  of  seasons  or  when  some  part  of  the  country  has  suffered  a 
drought.  Under  such  conditions  estancieros  iind  their  camps  over- 
stocked, so  they  keep  as  man}'  animals  as  they  dare — generally  more 
than  they  should — and  send  the  rest  through  this  market  to  some  more 
fortunate  part  of  the  country  where  there  is  feed. 

Prices  of  meat  in  the  Buenos  Aires  markets  at  present  (May,  1903) 
arc  quoted  as  follows  in  paper  money  per  pound  and  piece,  but,  as  a 
matter  of  fact,  the  prices  paid  are  less,  because  meat  is  sold  by  the 
lump  cheaper  than  it  would  be  b^^  actual  weight: 

Beef. — Loin,  20  cents;  roast,  25  to  32;  boiling,  for  puchero,  the 
poor  man's  national  dish,  16;  steaks,  20;  rump,  16;  breast,  9  to  13; 
ox  tongues,  80  cents  each;  Hamburg  steak,  22;  bones,  9. 

Yeal. — 13  to  36  cents.  , 

Porlc. — 32  to  45  cents,  and  ham,  imported,  $2.04,  domestic,  68  cents, 
the  latter  being  ver}'^  inferior. 

Mutton. — 13  to  45  cents. 

Lamb. — 18  to  36  cents. 

Turkey 8. — $3  to  $6  each. 


ANIMAL    INDUSTRY    OF    ARGENTINA.  35 

F(ywls.— $1.20  to  $1.50  each. 
Ohicke?vs.—$l  to  $1.20  each. 
Dticks. — $1  to  $1.50  each. 
Wild  ducks. — -10  to  70  cents  each. 
Geese. — $3.50  each. 

Martinettas  {similar  to  qriail  hut  iarger). — $1  to  $1.-40  a  pair. 
Partridges. — 30  cents  per  pair. 
Pigeons. — 60  cents  per  pair. 
Rabbits. — $1. 

SHORTAGE    OF   COWS   IN    ARGENTINA. 

Returning  to  the  fat-stock  show:  Some  good,  fat  cows  were  shown, 
both  Shorthorns  and  Herefords,  but  these  are  only  a  minor  incident 
of  the  show  and  are  usually  those  that  have  proved  useless  for  breed- 
ing purposes.  The  prices  obtained  were  very  poor.  The  best  ones, 
weighing  from  1,400  to  1,500  pounds,  were  bought  by  one  freezing 
company — which  ordinaialy  kills  no  cows  of  any  description — at  $62 
to  $77,  and  others  went  for  $41.  The  sacrifice  of  cows  and  heifers 
is  one  of  the  most  deplorable  mistakes  now  being  made  in  Argentina, 
and  is  so  regarded  by  the  majority  of  the  most  progressive  breeders; 
yet  it  goes  on,  as  one  may  see  anj'  day  by  going  to  the  "mataderos," 
the  municipal  slaughtering  place  in  connection  with  the  Buenos  Aires 
cattle  market.  To  be  sure,  a  good  proportion  of  these  cows  are  of  a 
very  inferior  class — "clearings,"  often,  from  estancias  where  the  stock 
is  being  improved.  But  the  number  of  cows  sold  for  beef  is  due,  in  a 
large  measure,  to  the  demand  for  beef  that  can  not  be  supplied  in  any 
other  way  and  is  another  evidence  that  the  number  of  cattle  in  the 
country  is  overestimated  and  has  probably  not  increased  much,  if  any, 
since  the  census  of  1895,  which  placed  the  total  number  at  22,000,000. 
The  country  is  short  of  cows,  and  it  can  not  afford  to  kill  them  so  long 
as  the}'  are  useful  for  breeding.  A  proposition  to  restrict  the  killing 
of  cows  to  those  over  6  years  old  met  with  derision.  The  Government 
would  like  to  do  something  to  check  this  destructive  practice,  but  as 
yet  has  not  found  a  practical  way  to  begin  it,  and  the  same  is  true  in 
regard  to  calves. 

These  conditions  indicate  how  strong  the  demand  is  for  cows  of  good 
blood.  The  expositions  show  it  b}-  the  small  numbers  of  cows  and 
heifers  shown  or  sold.  Those  who  have  good  cows  do  not  like  either 
to  get  them  in  condition  to  satisfy  show  demands  or  to  take  the  risk 
and  undergo  the  expense  of  taking  them  to  the  shows,  and  any  good 
breeder  who  has  good  cows  never  thinks  of  selling  them,  but  rather  of 
watching  for  a  chance  to  bu}^  more.  High-grade  cows,  as  stated  else- 
where, are  eagerly  sought  for,  and  good  prices  will  be  paid  for  them, 
and  have  been  paid,  and  are  now  being  paid  whenever  thej'  are  offered. 


36  BUREAU    OF    ANIMAL    INDUSTRY. 

8ALE8   OF    HORSES   IK    AR(JENTINA. 

Of  the  413  horses  in  the  May  horse  fair,  only  a  few  were  worthy  of 
special  notice,  and  these  were  tlie  lit)fht  coach  and  .saddle  horses.  The 
prices  for  the  great  majority  of  animals  sold  were  ver}-  low,  })ut  for 
some  of  the  prize  animals,  and  for  the  attractive  light  coach  and  sad- 
dle horses,  the  prices  seemed  to  ))e  satisfactory,  as  prices  go  in  that 
country.  The  horse  business,  while  it  has  improved  much,  is  not  in  as 
flourishing  a  condition  as  it  is  likely  to  be.  Hard  times,  bicycles,  elec- 
tric street  railways,  and  even  automobiles,  so  it  is  said  in  the  papers 
there,  have  hurt  the  horse  business.  The  highest  prices  obtained  were 
for  coach  horses,  the  lighter  ones  bringing  the  best  prices.  The  first 
prize  winner  in  the  light  coach  class,  a  hackney  Anglo-Norman  sorrel 
mare,  brought  $2,100,  while  the  third  horse  in  the  same  class,  a  geld- 
ing from  the  same  breeder,  sold  for  $2,000,  and  the  second  prize 
winner  from  another  breeder,  $1,000.  The  third  prize  pair  in  coach 
horses,  Yorkshire-American  cross,  sold  for  $1,300,  A  heavy  Shire 
coach  horse,  second  prize  winner,  aged  5  years,  from  an  imported  sire 
and  purebred  mare,  sold  for  $700.  The  first  prize  Anglo-Norman 
saddle  horse  sold  for  $300,  the  second  for  $250,  a  few  others  at  $300 
to  $400,  and  a  number  of  attractive  ones  from  $100  to  $150.  A  few 
hackneys  ))rought  $600  and  $700,  but  most  of  them  went  for  much 
less — around  $100  and  even  less — and  hackney  mares  sold  from  $45  to 
$90.  The  Clydesdales  brought  very  poor  prices,  and  were  a  rather 
"log}'"  lot,  most  of  them,  though,  of  fairly  good  breeding.  Perhaps 
the  fact  that  grain  is  not  often  fed  to  horses  there  may  have  had  some- 
thing to  do  with  this  appearance  of  many  horses.  The  first  prize 
Clydesdales,  in  groups  of  6  colts,  sold  for  $150  each,  the  second  group 
for  $195,  and  the  third  for  $225.  As  with  the  bulls  in  the  fine-stock 
show,  the  opinions  of  buyers  do  not  always  agree  with  those  of  the 
judges  who  award  the  prizes.  Other  Clydesdales,  pure  and  of  mixed 
blood,  sold  as  low  as  $35  and  $36,  and  many  went  at  $55  to  $100, 
though  some  also  commanded  from  $120  to  $180.  A  great  man}'^  camp- 
bred  mares  and  ordinar}'^  geldings  found  slow  buyers  at  $40  to  $60, 
and  even  less  than  the  lower  figure.  Some  sold  for  only  $15  each. 
These  horses  were  not  worth  more  than  they  brought,  for  an  ordinary 
horse  may  be  bought  any  day  for  $30,  or  less  than  $14  United  States 
money.  The  "cocheros"  (drivers  of  ordinary  carriages  for  hire)  in 
Buenos  Aires,  who  abuse  their  horses  shamefully,  find  it  cheaper  to 
buy  a  new  horse  than  to  feed  or  take  decent  care  of  the  poor  old 
animals  they  often  are  seen  drivmg. 

Some  splendid  mules  were  shown — large,  strong  animals  that  were 
shipped  to  South  Africa  and  sold  at  a  good  price.  Two  lots  were 
especially  noteworthy,  the  residt  of  a  cross  of  a  Poitou  jack  on 
Clydesdale  mares.     But  an  estanciero  who  has  tried  them  says  that 


ANIMAL   INDUSTRY    OF    ARGENTINA.  37 

his  colonists  found  them  too  slow  and  laz}^  and  inferior  to  the  smaller 
but  more  energetic  mule  of  the  countr3\  Still  the  large  nmles  are  in 
good  demand,  and  a  few  big  American  jacks  could  be  disposed  of 
to  excellent  advantage.  Some  Texas  stockmen  who  Avent  to  Argentina 
a  few  months  ago  to  start  a  stock  i*anch  and  do  general  farming  near 
Lake  Nahuel  Huapi,  in  the  southwestern  part  of  the  Republic,  brought 
two  big  jacks,  which  excited  a  good  deal  of  admiration,  and  experi- 
enced men  wanted  to  know  where  more  such  animals  could  be  had. 
The  mule  business  was  a  very  profitable  one  for  Argentina  during  the 
Boer  war,  and  the  countr}-,  especially  the  northern  part,  in  the  prov- 
ince of  Cordoba,  has  been  prett}"  well  drained  of  mules.  The  business 
is  practicall}'  over  now,  but  breeding  is  going  on,  and  the  demand  for 
mules  and  for  jacks  is  good. 

SALES   OF   SHEEP   IN   ARGENTINA. 

Only  24:0  fat  sheep  were  exhibited  in  the  May  show,  for  at  that 
time  sheep  breeders  were  rather  discouraged,  or  had  been  for  a  year. 
The  prices,  both  of  wool  and  mutton,  were  very  low.  Plenty  of 
sheep  were  sold  in  the  early  part  of  the  year  1902  for  $1  to  $1.50. 
Fat  sheep,  fit  for  export,  were  bringing  only  $4  to  $5.50,  and  the 
market  for  these  was  confined  to  the  three  freezing  work.s.  There  is 
record  of  the  sale  of  three  lots  of  these  sheep,  120  in  all.  Two  lots  of 
40 — one  of  Lincolns  and  one  of  Hampshire  Downs — sold  for  $5.50 
each,  while  another  lot  of  40  Lincolns  went  for  $4.80. 

ANIMAL    SANITARY    REGULATIONS. 

The  Argentine  Government  devoted  much  effort  during  the  3'ear 
1902  to  the  task  of  persuading  the  British  Board  of  Agriculture,  not 
only  that  Argentina  is  free  from  foot-and-mouth  disease,  })ut  that 
there  is  no  danger  of  its  being  brought  into  the  country  from  its 
neighbors,  especially  from  Uruguay,  and  in  turn  sent  again  to  the 
foreign  cattle  markets  in  England.  Many  times  it  seemed  that  the 
English  ports,  closed  to  Argentine  cattle  and  sheep  in  April,  1900, 
were  about  to  be  opened,  but  some  new  objection  from  the  British 
Board  of  Agriculture  would  prevent  it.  The  influence  of  the  English 
meat  producers  was  ver^^  great  and  the  English  breeders  seemed  to 
be  in  great  fear  of  another  outbreak  from  imported  infection.  But 
at  last  the  Argentine  Government  was  able  to  comply  with  the  condi- 
tions imposed  by  the  British  Board  of  Agriculture,  and  on  Febru- 
ary 3,  1903,  the  bars  were  let  down,  permitting  Argentine  sheep  and 
cattle  to  be  sent  to  the  English  ports  alive  under  conditions  similar  to 
those  required  of  importations  from  the  United  States.  The  condi- 
tions required  of  the  Argentine  Government  were  not  severe,  once 
the  fact  was  established,  as  it  undoubtedly  was,  that  foot-and-mouth 
disease  did  not  exist  in  Argentina  and  had  not  for  a  5^ear  been  within 


38  BUREAU  OF  ANIMAL  INDUSTRY. 

the  limits  of  the  territory  from  which  cattle  are  exported  or  alfalfa 
shipped  that  could  be  infected.  The  best  authorities  in  Argentina 
do  not  deny,  but  free!}'  admit,  that  foot-and-mouth  disease  is  liable 
to  appear  at  any  time  in  places,  and  it  exists  now  in  some  of  the  dis- 
tant provinces,  from  which  cattle  are  not  exported  and  but  seldom 
brought  directly  to  market.  They  are  brought  to  better  camps  to 
be  fattened  before  they  are  exported  or  slaughtered,  and  the  con- 
tention is  that  the  system  of  inspection  within  this  territory  is  so 
thorough  that  the  existence  of  the  disease  is  detected  inmiediately 
upon  its  appearance.  Rigorous  measures  are  then  taken  to  confine  it, 
and  it  is  soon  stamped  out.  So  men  like  Ronaldo  Tid)>lom,  the  chief 
live-stock  authority  of  Argentina  and  director  of  the  bureau  of  ani- 
mal industry,  claim  that  there  is  no  danger  of  infected  animals  being 
exported  or  of  arriving  with  the  disease.  No  animal  can  be  exported 
without  having  first  been  inspected  on  the  estancia  by  a  Federal  Gov- 
ernment inspector  and  again  in  the  port  of  Buenos  Aires,  Rosario,  or 
La  Plata,  whence  animals  may  be  exported. 

The  recent  outbreak  that  caused  the  Argentine  Government  to 
promptly  prohibit  exportation  of  all  kinds  of  live  animals  to  whatever 
destination  was  confined  to  three  estancias  within  65  miles  of  the  city 
of  Buenos  Aires.  It  first  appeared  among  some  imported  animals 
undergoing  quarantine  in  the  port.  The  first  animal  showing  the  dis- 
ease was  promptly  slaughtered.  In  a  day  or  two  2  other  animals 
appearing  infected  were  also  slaughtered.  The  next  day  7  more 
showed  the  disease,  and  by  this  time  the  origin  of  it  had  been  traced 
to  green  alfalfa  brought  from  an  estancia  which  was  shown  to  have  the 
disease.  Thereupon,  it  being  proved  that  the  animals  had  not  brought 
the  disease  with  them  from  England,  and  that  all  were  infected,  no 
more  were  killed,  and  all  that  pass  the  tuberculin  test  at  the  termina- 
tion of  the  quarantine,  after  they  recover  from  the  aphthous  fever  (or 
aftosa,  as  foot-and-mouth  disease  is  called  there),  will  be  admitted  the 
same  as  if  they  had  not  had  the  disease.  In  the  meantime  the  places 
of  its  appearance  were  quarantined.  The  authorities  do 'not  anticipate 
anj'  further  spread  of  the  disease  and  expect  it  will  all  be  over  in  a 
month  or  so."  The  closing  of  the  ports  was  out  of  regard  for  the  Eng- 
lish fear  of  the  disease  and  to  show  a  determined  effort  to  maintain  a 
clean  bill  of  health. 

The  close  proximity  of  the  Republic  of  Uruguay,  where  more  or 
less  the  same  conditions  prevail  as  in  Argentina,  led  the  British 
Board  of  Agriculture  to  insist  that  the  Argentine  Government  must 
either  induce  Uruguay  to  adopt  the  same  regulations  or  exclude  Uru- 
guayan cattle  altogether  from  the  country.  The  negotiations  with 
Uruguay  were  attended  with  difficulty.     The  saladeros,  or  jerked-meat 

"Since  this  wsus  written  the  Argentine  (jovernment  has  declare<i  officially  that  the 
disease  no  longer  exists  in  the  country. 


ANIMAL    INDUSTRY    OF    ARGENTINA.  39 

factories,  on  the  Uruguay  River,  on  both  sides,  get  their  cattle  from 
both  sides  of  the  river.  The  stockmen  of  the  Argentine  province  of 
Entre  Rios  sell  many  of  their  cattle  to  the  Uruguaj^an  saladeros,  and 
the  Argentine  saladeros  get  cattle  from  Uruguay.  There  were  other 
dealings  in  feeders  and  fat  stock,  so  the  suspension  of  this  traffic  would 
have  entailed  heavy  losses.  The  last  point  discussed  was  the  desire  of 
Uruguay  to  be  allowed  to  load  live  stock  on  the  same  ships  with 
Argentine  animals  for  England  and  other  points.  This  was  not  agree- 
able to  the  Buenos  Aires  Government,  as  it  would  involve  additional 
risk  of  disease  appearing  among  the  animals  on  the  voyage  and  there 
would  be  no  way  of  knowing  in  which  country  it  originated.  Finally 
the  Uruguayan  Government  agreed  to  the  conditions,  as  it  shares,  on 
equal  terms,  in  the  benefits  of  admission  to  the  English  market,  while 
the  work  of  removing  the  obstacles  has  been  done  b}'^  the  Argentines. 

The  Governments  of  Argentina  and  Uruguay  have  made  regulations 
in  substance  as  follows,  governing  the  importation  and  exportation  of 
animals,  in  compliance  with  the  demands  of  the  British  Board  of 
Agriculture: 

Article  1  prohibits  («)  the  importation  or  landing  of  animals,  animal 
remains,  etc.,  from  any  country  where  dangerous  contagious  or  infec- 
tious animal  diseases  exist;  {b)  the  importation  of  animals  from  a 
country  whose  laws  do  not,  in  the  opinion  of  the  executiv^e,  offer  suf- 
ficient guarantee  against  contagion ;  (<?)  the  importation  of  animals  from 
abroad  through  any  other  port  than  Buenos  Aires;  {d)  the  importation 
of  animals  from  any  country  that  have  originally  come  from  a  prohib- 
ited country;  {e)  the  importation  of  animals  in  a  ship  which  has, 
within  thirty'  days  of  its  embarkation,  loaded  animals  in  a  prohibited 
country;  (/*)  the  importation  of  animals  in  a  ship  which,  after  loading, 
has  been  in  contact  with  anj^  kind  of  animals  proceeding  from  a  prohib- 
ited countr}'^,  or  which  has  called  at  any  port  of  such  a  country;  {g) 
the  entr}^  into  an  Argentine  port  of  any  ship  which  has,  during  the 
preceding  sixty  days,  loaded  animals  of  such  a  country;  (//)  the  impor- 
tation of  animals  having  "garrapatas,"  or  Texas  fever  ticks. 

Article  2  prohibits  the  exportation  of  animals  attacked  by  contagious 
diseases,  or  suspected  of  being  so,  or  bruised,  and  of  those  that  have 
not  undergone  veterinary  inspection  on  the  estancia  and  at  the  port  of 
embarkation,  and  that  have  not  been  transported  in  disinfected  vehicles. 
Also  exportation  in  a  ship  which  has  on  board  animals  from  a  prohib- 
ited nation  or  that  has  not  been  disinfected  after  having  remained  in 
or  touched  at,  during  the  preceding  sixty  days,  the  port  of  a  nation 
under  prohibition  by  reason  of  the  cattle  plague,  or  during  thirty  days, 
if  prohibited  on  account  of  the  existence  of  pleuro^pneumonia,  foot- 
and-mouth  disease,  or  glanders;  also  the  exportation  of  cattle  having 
the  Texas  fever  ticks. 

The  importation  of  all  classes  of  animals  from  Russia,  Roumania, 


40  BUREATT    OF    ANIMAL    INDUSTRY. 

Scrvia,  Capo  Colony,  Natjil,  Orant^o  Kivcr  Colony,  and  other  British 
colonics  in  South  Africa;  the  Gorman  and  Portuguese  possessions  of 
East  and  West  Africa,  the  French  possessions  of  West  Africa,  and 
Madagascar,  Bolivia,  Ecuador,  Peru,  Venexuola, Colombia,  and  English, 
Dutch,  and  French  Guiana  is  prohibited. 

Importation  of  cattle,  sheep,  goats,  and  hogs  from  the  continent  of 
Europe,  Australia,  Brazil,  Chile,  Paraguay,  and  from  the  States  of 
Maine,  Now  Hampshire,  Vermont,  Massachusetts,  Connecticut,  and 
Rhode  Island,  of  the  United  States,  is  prohibited.  There  is  no  pro- 
hibition against  the  rest  of  the  United  States,  the  New  England  States 
havang  been  included  in  the  prohibited  list  because  of  the  outbreak 
of  foot-and-mouth  disease  there.  This  prohibition  will  be  removed 
when  the  disease,  in  the  opinion  of  the  United  States  Department  of 
Agriculture,  is  effectually  stamped  out." 

Article  4  requires  that  animals  imported  nmst  ]>o  accompanied  by 
a  certificate  (in  the  United  States  from  the  Department  of  Agriculture) 
showing  that  the  cattle  plague  has  not  existed  for  ten  years  in  the 
country  from  which  they  proceed;  and  that  neither  plcuro-pneumonia 
nor  foot-and-mouth  disease  has  existed  there  during  the  preceding  six 
months;  that  as  regards  sheep  it  nmst  be  shown  that  no  case  of  small- 
pox in  sheep  has  occurred  during  the  six  months;  as  regards  horses  a 
similar  certificate  in  reference  to  glanders  and  lampas.  This  certificate 
must  be  indorsed  by  the  Argentine  consul  at  the  port  of  embarkation. 

Provision  is  made  for  the  inspection  of  ships  bringing  live  stock 
and  for  segregation  and  quarantine,  or  destruction  if  they  have  the 
prescribed  diseases,  of  animals  not  found  in  perfect  sanitary  condition. 

Article  6  specifies  the  quarantine  and  inspection  of  animals  imported, 
as  follows:  Cattle,  40  days,  during  which  neither  the  owner  nor  anyone 
representing  him  may  have  access  to  the  animals.  At  the  expiration 
of  this  period  cattle  are  subjected  to  the  tuberculin  test,  and  if  thej' 
react,  showing  that  they  have  tuberculosis,  they  must  be  slaughtered 
without  compensation  or  removed  from  the  country  within  8  daj's. 
Sheep  are  to  be  kept  in  quarantine  and  isolated  for  15  days  and  horses 
for  8  daj's.  Horses  may  be  tested  for  glanders  at  the  expiration  of 
the  quarantine  period,  and  if  they  have  the  disease,  or  if  they  have 
been  in  contact  with  horses  suffering  from  glanders,  must  be  slaugh- 
tered without  compensation.  The  length  of  the  quarantine  is  at  the 
discretion  of  the  director  of  the  division  do  ganaderia  (bureau  of 
animal  industry)  and  may  be  extended,  though  it  is  not  likely  to  be. 

Special  provisions  are  made  for  commerce  between  the  Repu))lics  of 
Argentina  and  Uruguay,  requiring  thorough  inspection  and  dipping 
in  the  official  dipping  places  for  killing  ticks.     Importations  from 

«  Foot-and-mouth  disease  has  entirely  dinappeared  from  the  United  States,  and  on 
July  20,  1903,  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture  issued  an  order  reopening  the  port  of 
Boston  for  export  cattle. — Editor. 


ANIMAL   INDUSTRY    OF    ARGENTINA.  41 

Uruguay  are  not  subject  to  the  same  regulations  as  other  countries, 
the  certificate  of  health  of  cattle  and  other  animals  heing  more  inclu- 
sive and  being  given  from  each  section  of  the  countrj^  from  which 
animals  proceed. 

CONDITIONS   AND   COST    OF    ADMISSION    OF    BREEDING   STOCK. 

All  breeding  stock  is  admitted  free  of  duty.  Importers  should  form 
a  connection  at  Buenos  Aires  ])efore  shipping,  as  it  will  ])e  a  great 
advantage  upon  arrival. 

The  auction  house  of  Adolf o  Bullrich  &  Co.,  of  Buenos  Aires  is  one 
of  the  most  prominent  in  Argentina;  in  fact,  it  sells  more  than  half  of 
all  the  breeding  stock  sold  in  the  country.  The  founder  of  the  estab- 
lishment has  been  mayor  of  Buenos  Aires  two  terms,  and  he  will  spend 
some  months  this  j^ear  traveling  in  the  United  States  studying  our 
breeding  establishments.  His  son,  Eduardo  Bullrich,  is  the  manager. 
These  men  speak  English  and  have  a  wnde  knowledge  of  the  countr}' 
and  large  acquaintance  and  influence  with  breeders  of  Argentina. 

B)-eeding  stock,  feeding  stock,  farms  of  all  kinds,  city  propert}',  and 
almost  everything,  in  fact,  is  sold  at  auction  in  Argentina.  The  sales 
are  held  in  a  great  market,  running  through  from  one  street  to  another, 
in  the  very  midst  of  the  business  district.  Here  the  animals  are  kept 
on  exhibition  for  two  or  three  weeks  generall}'  previous  to  the  sales. 
The  sales  are  well  advertised  and  are  attended  b}'  the  leading  ])reeders, 
especially  during  the  spring  sales — in  iSeptember  and  October. 

The  service  in  the  embarcadero,  w^here  animals  are  detained  during 
quarantine  and  the  owners  are  not  allowed  to  see  them,  is  generall}^ 
quite  satisfactory  to  the  English  importers  of  Buenos  Aires.  There 
has  been  no  complaint  aside  from  one  lot,  but,  on  the  contrar},  the 
service  has  been  complimented.  There  is  no  cause  to  anticipate  any 
trouble  or  excessive  charge,  the  regular  rates  being  given  herewith. 
The  auctioneer's  commission  is  6  per  cent  on  sales,  and  the  other 
expenses  upon  arrival  in  Buenos  Aires,  aside  from  personal  expenses, 
until  the  animals  are  sold,  are  as  follow^s: 

At  the  landing  stage,  or  embarcadero: 

Unloading  cattle  or  horses,  per  head "$2.  00 

Unloading  sheep,  per  head 50 

Feed  (hay,  maize,  and  bran)  per  diem  per  head — 

Cattle  and  horses 1. 50 

Cattle  and  horses,  with  oil  cake  and  oats 2. 00 

Sheep  ( hay,  maize,  and  bran ) ,  per  head 40 

Entrance  and  crane  fee  (Government  tax  on  landing  stage)  — 

Cattle  and  horses,  gold 05 

Sheep,  gold 01 

«A11  reference  to  money,  unless  gold  is  specified,  is  in  Argentine  i>aper,  worth  44 
cents  in  United  States  money  on  the  dollar. 


42  BUREAU  OF  ANIMAL  INDUSTRY. 

Clearing  at  the  custom-house: 

Stamps  for  clearing,  $1  per  $1,000  declared  value. 
Stamps  for  documents,  $6.75  on  each  consignment. 
Fee  of  custom-house  broker,  from  $10  to  $25,  according  to  shipment. 
At  the  auction  house: 

Feed  (hay,  maize,  bran,  and  oil  cake)  per  diem — 

Cattle  and  horses,  per  head $2.  00 

Sheep,  per  head 50 

Driving  from  landing  stage  pens  to  auction  mart: 

Cattle  and  horses,  per  head 1 .  50 

Cartage  of  cattle,  according  to  number  of  animals,  as  may  l)e  arranged. 

Cartage  of  sheep  per  cart 2.  00 

Receiving  animals  and  delivery  at  auction  mart  is  gratis. 

So  little  business  has  been  offered  in  recent  years  that  there  are  no 
regular  lixed  rates  on  the  shipment  of  animals  from  New  York  to 
Buenos  Aires.  Four  English  companies  run  regular  steamers  direct 
from  New  York  to  Buenos  Aires,  and  they  have  all  expressed  a  willing- 
ness to  accommodate  shippers  of  pedigreed  stock  to  a  greater  or  less 
extent.  These  companies  are  the  Prince  Line,  the  Lamport  &  Holt 
Line,  the  Norton  Line,  and  Houlder  Brothers.  The  rates  are  as  fol- 
lows, in  United  States  money:  Cattle,  $55  per  head;  sheep,  $18.20  per 
head;  horses,  $82.50  per  head;  donkeys,  $27.50  per  head. 

The  animals  will  usually  be  carried  on  the  after  deck,  in  the  open, 
with  proper  cover.  The  voyage,  except  the  last  four  days,  is  a  smooth 
and  warm  one  usually,  especially  in  the  season  when  shipments  should 
be  made.  From  Rio  de  Janeiro  to  Montevideo  it  is  likely  to  be  cool 
and  rough  in  July  and  August,  so  that  precautions  should  be  taken  to 
protect  the  animals. 

The  steamship  company  supplies  nothing  but  water  to  the  animals. 
All  feed  must  be  supplied  by  the  shipper,  but  it  is  carried  free  unless 
there  is  a  large  amount  in  excess  of  what  is  required;  in  that  case  it  is 
charged  freight  at  the  rate  of  $3.86  per  ton.  Where  6  cattle,  or  35 
sheep,  or  -i  horses  are  shipped  at  one  time,  free  passage  is  given  to  one 
attendant  unless  he  requires  cabin  accommodations,  in  which  case  he 
is  charged  $50  passage  money.  The  voyage  is  not  an  unpleasant  one; 
the  ships  are  fairly  comfortable  for  a  few  passengers,  and  it  is  highly 
advisable  that  valuable  animals  should  be  in  the  care  of  some  one  who 
understands  them  and  is  personally  i  nterested  in  their  welfare.  Arrange- 
ments can  be  made  with  the  captain  of  the  ship  for  the  care  of  the 
animals  by  the  crew,  however,  for  a  small  fee.  It  is  of  the  utmost 
importance  that  the  animals  shall  have  plenty  of  cool,  fresh  water  dur- 
ing the  voyage,  not  only  for  drinking,  but  for  bathing  the  animals 
while  passing  through  the  Tropics.  Salt  water  will  not  do,  as  it  causes 
irritation  of  the  skin  and  makes  th(^  coat  look  rough.  Coal  dust  has 
the  same  effect.  Stalls  should  be  padded  for  the  same  reason,  as  it 
will  pay  to  make  surd  that  animals  arrive  looking  as  well  as  pos- 


ANIMAL   INDUSTRY    OF   ARGENTINA.  43 

sible.  A  laxative  should  be  provided  for  use  while  passing  through 
the  Tropics.  The  length  of  the  voyage  varies  from  twenty -three  to 
thirty  days. 

Insurance  on  the  animals  against  all  risks  may  be  had  in  reliable  com- 
panies for  from  5  to  10  per  cent,  depending  upon  the  line  and  the  ship, 
and  it  is  advisable  to  carry  insurance,  as  the  steamship  company  does 
not  assume  any  responsibility. 

THE    DAIRY   INDUSTRY. 

During  the  year  1902  Argentina  exported  9,308,200  pounds  of  but- 
ter, chiefly  to  England  and  South  Africa.  This  was  an  increase  of  187 
per  cent  over  the  exportation  of  the  previous  year,  which  was  3,232,391 
pounds.  There  are  no  statistics  of  production  for  home  consumption, 
but  the  best  estimate  available — that  of  the  Rural  Society — puts  the  pro- 
duction of  the  province  of  Buenos  Aires  at  20  tons  per  day.  The  pro- 
duction and  consumption  of  butter  outside  this  province  is  not  possible 
to  estimate  closely,  but  certainl}^  all  *the  rest  of  the  country  does  not 
produce  10  per  cent  of  the  amount  produced  in  this  province,  if  we  leave 
out  of  the  account  the  amount  produced  and  consumed  in  the  city  and 
vicinity  of  Rosario,  the  second  cit}^  of  the  Republic,  having  a  popula- 
tion of  over  120,000.  Even  this  city  is  supplied,  to  a  large  extent, 
from  the  province  of  Buenos  Aires,  for  as  yet  only  a  small  proportion 
of  the  estancieros  are  making  butter.  The  private  production  and 
consumption  must  also  be  omitted  in  this  comparison,  for  that  is 
increasing  on  the  estancias.  Still  there  are  thousands  of  people  own- 
ing various  numbers  of  cattle  who  either  go  without  butter  or  buy  it 
in  the  towns. 

The  city  of  Buenos  Aires,  with  its  876,000  people,  is,  of  course,  the 
chief  local  market  for  Argentine  butter,  and  it  is  well  supplied  with  a 
very  good  quality.  The  consumption  is  estimated  at  only  4i  pounds 
per  capita  per  annum.  The  working  classes  do  not  have  butter  on 
their  tables  as  they  do  in  the  United  States.  The  present  price  in  the 
city  is  about  22  to  24  cents  gold  per  pound. 

To  supply  the  demand  there  are  four  great  factories  or  systems  of 
factories.  Their  plan  of  operation  is  something  unique.  The  indus- 
try is,  of  course,  only  in  its  incipiency,  but  it  is  interesting  to  note  the 
process  and  rapidity  of  its  development,  its  extensive  possibilities,  and 
the  probability  of  its  immediate  and  tremendous  growth. 

La  Union  Argentina,  the  chief  butter  maker  of  Argentina,  is  a 
cooperative  creamery  on  a  very  large  scale.  It  was  organized  in  1899 
to  save  the  butter  industry  from  the  collapse  that  threatened  it,  which 
was  due  to  the  wastefulness  of  small  individual  production  and  the 
lack  of  uniformity  and  modern  methods.     The  last  report  of  the 


44  BUREAU  OF  ANIMAL  INDUSTRY. 

Argentine  llural  Society  gives  an  account  of  the  organization  and 
opei*atiou  of  La  Union  Argentina,  which  is  in  substance  as  follows: 

Tlie  applicant  for  iiieniljerylii])  imiyt  he  a  producer  of  milk,  agree  not  to  dispose  of 
it  or  any  of  its  products  except  through  the  society,  and  he  must  own  five  shares. 
But  one  need  not  be  a  member  in  order  to  receive  the  benefits  of  the  organization, 
since  members  and  nonmembers  are  treated  alike  in  the  charges  for  services  ren- 
dered, and  are  paid  the  proceeds  of  sales  in  the  same  manner  and  at  the  same  time. 
The  society  receives  any  amount  of  milk  orcreani  from  any  person,  whether  member 
or  not,  to  be  made  into  butter.  Patrons  of  the  society  pay  the  expenses  of  the  cream- 
ery— freights  and  other  expenses — in  proportion  to  the  value  of  their  consignments. 
Those  who  send  milk  are  not  charged  for  the  use  of  the  separators.  A  commission 
of  8  cents  paper  per  kilo  is  charged  on  the  butter  made  from  either  milk  sent  in  and 
separated  or  from  cream  that  has  been  separated  before  being  sent  to  the  factory. 
This  amounts  to  about  1.6  cents  gold  per  pound,  and  is  to  cover  the  following  charges^ 

(1)  Freight  charges  on  milk  or  cream. 

(2)  Cartage  on  cream  from  the  railway  station  in  Buenos  Aires  to  the  factory. 

(3)  Attending  to  ordera  for  utensils,  for  fuel,  instructions,  etc. 

(4)  Cans  for  transporting  cream. 

(5)  Inspection  of  the  separators  by  frequent  tests  of  the  separated  milk. 

(6)  Making,  care,  and  sale  of  butter. 

The  society  does  not  purchase  milk  or  cream,  nor  does  it  guarantee  any  fixed  price 
for  the  butter  made  from  either.  After  testing  each  consignment  it  is  made  into 
butter,  and  the  directors  fix  the  basis  for  making  up  the  monthly  accounts  in 
accordance  with  the  prices  obtained. 

The  society  had  thirty-five  producing  members  on  the  1st  of  May,  1899,  and  the 
increase  has  been  so  rapid  that  in  September,  1902,  it  had  1,134  consignors  of  milk 
and  cream,  members  and  nonmembers,  and  forty-three  creameries  throughout  the 
province  of  Buenos  Aires  and  two  in  Entre  Rios.  Since  the  latter  date  four  new 
creameries  have  l^een  started  in  the  province  of  Entre  Rios.  These  new  creameries 
were  started  by  the  producers  suV)Scribing  for  the  stock  to  the  extent  of  the  cost  of 
the  machinery,  at  the  same  time  declaring  in  writing  how  much  milk  each  can  fur- 
nish daily.  Each  of  these  creameries  is  separating  about  7,000  quarts  of  milk  per 
day.  The  society  has  many  cream-separating  stations  throughout  the  country, 
wherever  the  milk  can  be  obtained  in  sufficient  quantities.  The  daily  production  of 
the  society  is  now  about  eighteen  tons. 

A  creamery  in  Argentina  means  a  place  where  cream  is  separated 
from  milk  and  the  cream  sent  to  the  factory  in  the  cit}^  to  be  made 
into  butter,  cheese,  or  other  milk  product.  What  we  understand  as  a 
creamery  is  called  a  "  fabrica  do  manteca,"  or  butter  factor}',  in  Argen- 
tina. La  Union  Argentina  makes  all  its  butter  in  Buenos  Aires, 
receiving  cream  from  many  stations,  or  creameries,  scattered  all 
through  the  provinces  where  dairying  has  been  taken  up.  Two  of 
these  stations  are  in  the  northern  part  of  the  Province  of  Santa  Fe,  in 
the  Jewish  colony.  The  cream  is  sent  daily  to  Buenos  Aires,  twenty 
hours  by  train,  in  all  weather,  without  ice.  The  colonists  get  about 
2^  cents  paper  per  liter  in  winter  and  3^  cents  in  summer  for  their 
rnilk,  equivalent  to  a  trifle  more  than  1  cent  gold  per  quart  in  the  winter 
and  1.4  cents  in  the  sumiiier,  with  which  they  are  well  satisfied.  The\' 
set  the  r'ans  containing  milk  out  in  the  road  in  the  hot  sun  and  the 
creamery  wagon  comes  along  and  picks  them  up,  dropping  the  empty 


ANIMAL   INDUSTRY    OF    ARGENTINA.  45 

cans  in  the  same  manner.  The  skimmed  milk  is  used  at  the  creamery 
to  feed  pigs. 

The  railway  rates  for  the  transportation  of  milk  and  cream,  per  100 
kilos  (220  pounds)  are  as  follows,  in  Argentine  paper  money: 

Less  than  50  kilometers  (31  miles):  Southern,  $1.36;  Western,  $1; 
Rosario,  $0.90;  and  the  Pacific,  $0.73. 

From 50 to  100  kilometers  (31  to  62  miles):  Southern,  $1.57;  Western, 
$1.20;  Rosario,  $1.70;  and  the  Pacific,  $2.1:0. 

From  200  to  800  kilometers  (124  to  186  miles):  Southern,  $2.18; 
Western,  $2.86;  Rosario,  $3.40;  and  the  Pacific,  $6. 

From  300  to  900  kilometers  (186  to  559  miles):  Southern,  $2,27; 
W^estern,  $3.64;  Rosario,  $4.30;  and  the  Pacific,  $9. 

The  Jewish  colony  referred  to  ships  b}'  the  Rosario  line  and  pays 
the  highest  figure,  as  it  is  355  miles  from  Buenos  Aires.  There  is 
much  complaint,  especially  from  dairymen  near  Buenos  Aires,  of  the 
high  rates  of  transportation  maintained  by  the  railwa3's. 

The  society  protects  the  reputation  of  its  butter  product  1)3'  requir- 
ing every  exporter  to  brand  the  cases  "Producto  Argentine,"  and  to 
receive  shipments  on  shipboard  directl}^  from  the  society' .  The  price 
obtained  by  the  producer  is  not  far  from  80  cents  paper  per  kilo,  or 
16  cents  gold  per  pound.  The  average  price  in  London  in  1902  was 
about  22.5  cents  gold  per  pound,  leaving  a  comfortable  margin  to  cover 
the  cost  of  shipment  and  give  the  exporter  a  satisfactory  profit.  The 
average  Buenos  Aires  prices,  in  December,  for  four  jears,  have  been, 
in  gold,  as  follows:  1899,  19.2  cents;  1900,  19.6  cents;  1901,  20  cents; 
1902,  18.2  cents. 

Argentine  butter  has  won  a  good  reputation  in  the  English  mar- 
kets, and  has  been  sold  in  competition  with  the  French,  Holland, 
and  Australian  products  at  prices  almost  as  good  as  the  best,  and 
it  has  been  gaining  in  price  as  well  as  in  quantity  exported.  The 
amount  of  the  exportation  is  increasing  rapidh',  as  new  creameries 
are  being  erected,  and  the  capacity"  of  those  already  in  operation  is 
being  enlarged.  New  territor}"  is  being  opened  up  and  separating 
stations  established,  where  the  milk  is  brought  and  the  cream  taken 
out  and  sent  to  Buenos  Aires  or  some  other  place  to  be  made  into 
butter. 

Argentine  butter  is  of  a  ver^'  good  quality',  and  uniform  it}'  is 
secured  by  the  large  production  under  one  management.  It  lacks  the 
firmness  and  grain  of  United  States  butter,  however,  and  even  with- 
out considering  the  fact  that  it  is  never  salted,  unless  so  ordered,  it 
does  not  seem  to  have  quite  the  rich  flavor  of  that  made  in  the  best 
creameries  in  the  United  States.  However,  it  suits  the  European 
market  very  well  and  is  gaining  ground  there.  The  South  African 
market  is  also  an  important  one  for  Argentina  in  this  respect,  as  in 
others.     The  salted  butter,  which  is  worked  twice,  being  left  to  stand 


46  BUREAU    OF    ANIMAL    INDUSTRY. 

over  ni^ht  after  .salting,  is  of  a  very  fine,  even  quality,  firm  and  rich 
in  flavor,  and  compares  very  well  with  that  made  in  the  United  States. 

The  city  of  Buenos  Aires  has  three  great  dairy  companies  that  sup- 
ply all  milk  products  to  the  people  at  retail  and  also  make  some 
butter  for  export  and  for  sale  outside  Buenos  Aires.  There  are  two 
or  three  other  butter  maiuifacturing  companies  that  buy  milk  and 
cream  and  export  butter,  and  within  a  year  or  two  these  will  be 
numerous. 

The  dairy  business  in  the  city  of  Buenos  Aires  is  interesting  and 
in  some  ways  unique.  Three  companies  have  large  dairies  of  their 
own,  where  attention  has  been  for  some  years  given  to  the  breeding 
of  milch  cows.  The  peculiaritj^  of  the  dairy  industry  there  is  the 
establishment  all  over  the  city  by  these  three  companies  of  little 
lecherias,  or  milk  depots,  where  milk  is  sold  in  every  form,  both 
fresh  and  manufactured.  These  little  shops  are  located  in  all  parts  of 
the  city,  even  on  the  principal  shopping  streets,  and  are  very  clean 
and  attractive.  The  interior  is  always  painted  white,  and  the  attend- 
ants are  usually  young  women.  Milk  as  a  beverage  is  popular,  and 
all  these  places  have  it  fresh,  sweet,  and  cool,  and  also  buttermilk  and 
other  milk  beverages.  A  large  glass  of  milk  costs  10  cents  paper,  or 
a  little  over  4  cents  of  our  money.  It  is  estimated  that  the  three  com- 
panies sell  daily  from  18,000  to  19,000  glasses.  The  daily  consump- 
tion of  milk  in  the  city  is  about  200,000  liters,  or  211,340  quarts. 
These  hygienically  conducted  establishments  sell  about  one-fifth  of  it 
The  rest  is  sold  in  a  multitude  of  ways  by  small  dairies.  Many  of 
them  drive  the  cows  about  and  milk  them  in  the  streets  as  the  milk  is 
called  for  by  their  patrons.  Others  do  not  take  the  cows  out,  but 
keep  them  in  prominent  places  in  the  cit}',  and  milk  them  on  order,  so 
people  can  see  what  the}'  arc  getting.  Some  lecheros  (milk  sellers) 
still  go  about  in  the  old  fashion,  with  milk  cans  on  horseback,  as  they 
still  do  in  the  provincial  towns.  The  three  companies  referred  to  sell 
milk  at  15  cents  per  liter,  or  20  cents  delivered.  The  prices  obtained 
by  the  other  milk  sellers  range  from  8  to  20  cents  paper  per  liter, 
according  to  the  quality  of  the  milk  and  the  repute  of  the  dealer. 
The  city  has  a  system  of  inspection  of  milk,  but  through  lack  of  suffi- 
cient inspectors  it  is  not  very  efficient.  The  milk  is  usually  of  a  fair 
quality,  and  that  of  the  three  companies  is  alwaj^s  good.  Sterilized 
milk,  which  they  prepare  and  sell  in  sealed  bottles,  is  much  used. 

Two  of  the  three  companies  have  contributed  to  the  advancement  of 
the  dairy  industry  by  the  development  of  manufactured  products  from 
it.  One  has  two  fine  estancias  about  60  miles  from  Buenos  Aires 
stocked  with  about  2,000  cows,  as  well  as  other  stock.  The  cream  is 
separated  from  the  milk  on  the  estancia,  and  onl}"  the  cream  is  sent  to 
the  factory  in  Buenos  Aires.  Casein,  also  an  important  export  prod- 
uct, is  taken  out  of  the  milk  after  the  cream  has  been  extracted,  and 


ANIMAL    INDUSTRY    OF    ARGENTINA.  47 

what  remains  is  fed  to  pigs.  Besides  butter  and  sterilized  milk,  the 
dairy'  companies  make  a  preparation  peculiar  to  Argentina,  known 
as  "dulcede  leche,"  literallj^,  "sweet  of  milk."  This  confection  is 
made  by  boiling  whole  milk  and  sugar  for  several  hours,  with  con- 
stant stirring,  until  it  becomes  very  thick,  a  sugary  paste  that  is  deli- 
cious as  a  dressing  or  as  a  dessert  by  itself,  and  is  verj-  popular  there. 
The  people  make  it  themselves  and  use  it  freely.  Condensed  milk  of 
excellent  quality,  both  sweetened  and  natural,  is  made  bj^  these  com- 
panies. Another  milk  product  that  has  found  high  favor  in  Buenos 
Aires  is  that  known  as  "leche  mater nizada,"  or  babj-'s  milk.  One 
company  has  been  especially  successful  with  this  milk  prepared  for 
infants.  It  is  put  up  in  sealed  bottles,  and  it  retains  its  sweetness 
without  carrying  any  deleterious  substance.  People  taking  long  voy- 
ages often  take  hundreds  of  bottles  of  this  milk  for  the  use  of  the 
baby.  The  same  company  makes  fine  toilet  soap  and  several  other 
products  from  milk.  Two  put  up  butter  in  small  tins,  also  sterilized 
milk,  for  export. 

The  keen  rivalr}'^  among  these  companies,  especially  the  two  best 
known,  shows  the  interest  taken  in  the  development  of  the  dairy 
industry.  Their  exhibits  at  the  recent  show  attracted  more  attention 
than  any  other  feature.  The  business  in  all  these  lines  is  developing 
with  a  rush,  but  it  is  certainh^  permanently  established  and  destined 
to  be  one  of  the  chief  sources  of  Argentine  wealth.  The  waste  of  milk 
that  has  been  going  on  in  the  country  has  begun  to  decrease;  estan- 
cieros  are  beginning  to  understa,nd  the  importance  of  making  the  most 
out  of  the  milk  and  to  see  the  mistake  they  have  been  making  in 
allowing  the  calves  to  have  it. 

SELECTION    OF    COWS    FOR   MILKING    QUALITIES. 

Estancieros  are  looking  to  their  breeding  to  get  milking  qualities, 
something  to  which  the  average  breeder  has  given  no  thought  hereto- 
fore. The  dairy  breeds,  except  the  Jersey,  are  attracting  more  atten- 
tion. For  this  reason  milk-giving  Shorthorns  will  commend  themselves 
to  Argentines,  provided  that  they  are  also  meat  producers;  that  is, 
a  Bates  cow  or  bull,  known  to  have  a  good  milk-producing  inheritance, 
will  be  regarded  very  favorably,  provided  the  animal  promises  to  pro- 
duce first-class  beef  animals  also.  Formerl}^  nothing  but  beef  was 
thought  of;  cows  were  rarely  niilked,  and  calves  ran  with  their  mothers 
until  they  were  8  or  9  months  old.  Now  the}'  speak  of  taming  cows 
to  milk  as  they  would  of  breaking  a  wild  horse.  The  progressive 
breeders  and  estancieros  are  making  selections  of  their  cows  with 
regard  to  their  milking  qualities,  and  are  seeking  to  improve  the 
amount  and  qualit}^  of  the  milk  of  their  offspring. 

Holsteins  have  some  strong  admirers,  and  Dr.  Enrique  Fynn,  one  of 
the  principal  breeders  of  Argentina,  is  about  to  make  a  visit  to  the 


48  BUREAU    OF    ANIMAL    INDUSTRY. 

United  States  to  secure  some  new  ])reediiij;-  stock  which  the  hiws  of 
Argentina  do  not  permit  him  to  bring  from  the  Continent  of  Eurdpe. 
He  is  well  satisfied  as  to  the  superiority  of  the  Holstein  for  his  purpose 
and  as  a  meat  producer  at  the  same  time.  The  Holsteins  ai'e  stronger 
in  the  country  than  any  other  of  the  special  dairy  breeds. 

Flemish  cattle  have  l)een  bred  for  fifteen  years  on  one  estancia  near 
Las  Heras,  about  60  miles  southwest  of  Buenos  Aires.  One  owner 
has  won  many  prizes  with  his  cattle.  He  obtained  his  first  stock 
nearly  twenty  years  ago  and  has  imported  a  number  of  well-bred  cows 
from  Belgium  since.  The  importation  of  cattle  and  sheep  from  the 
Continent  of  Europe  to  Argentina  is  prohibited  under  the  agreement 
with  England  where])y  the  English  ports  were  reopened  to  live  animals 
from  Argentina,  but  such  importation  had  not  been  permitted  for  two 
or  three  years  before.  There  is  no  likelihood  that  European  animals 
will  be  admitted  to  Argentina  for  man}^  years.  The  suppl}^  of  Flemish 
and  Holstein  breeding  stock  is  very  small  in  the  country.  There  are 
but  two  or  three  herds  of  each  worth  mentioning  and  scarcely  any 
first-class  breeding  stock  is  on  the  market.  The  strong  interest  in  the 
dairy  industry  makes  it  certain  that  superior  purebred  animals  of  this 
class  which,  in  addition  to  their  well-known  milk-producing  powers, 
show  beef  qualities  at  the  same  time,  will  find  a  quick  and  very  satis- 
factory sale  in  this  market.  This  applies  to  Shorthorns  as  well  as  to 
Plolstein  and  Flemish  cattle.  Tiptop  young  animals  may  be  relied 
upon  if  properly  presented  to  bring  anj'where  from  $800  to  $5,000 
gold,  and  $1,500  v/ould  seem  to  be  a  safe  figure  to  count  on.  If  the 
animals  were  of  right  kind  in  all  particulars  they  would  bring  more 
rather  than  less  if  offered  at  the  right  time. 

One  breeder  has  been  trying  a  cross  between  Shorthorn  and  Flemish 
cattle  with  significant  results.  Shorthorn  and  Shorthorn-Flemish 
steers  of  the  same  age  were  prepared  for  market  under  precisely  the 
same  conditions.  The  Shorthorns  averaged  1,21S  pounds,  while  the 
cross-bred  steers  gave  an  average  of  1,441  pounds.  It  is  claimed  for 
this  cross  that  it  produces  a  cow  almost  as  good  as  the  Flemish  and  a 
steer  better  than  the  Flemish  and  generally  as  good  as  the  Shorthorn; 
that  the  cross-bred  steer  is  hardier  than  the  Shorthorn  and  matures 
equally  early.  The  milk  test  in  the  recent  show  also  gives  some 
strong  evidence  favorable  to  this  cross,  which  now  has  nianv  adxocates 
and  is  likely  to  be  tried  by  others. 

But  those  who  believe  in  producing  milch  cows  1)3-  a  careful  selec- 
tion of  Shorthorns  are  probabh^  four  timco  as  numerous  as  the  sup- 
porters of  all  other  breeds  combined  in  Argentina,  for  no  claims  are 
made  for  the  Hereford  in  this  respect 

TEST   OF    DAIRY    COWS. 

The  practical  test  of  dairy  cows  was  one  of  the  most  interesting  and 
instructive  features  of  the  exposition.     The  competition  was  among 


BuLLETfN   No.  48,  B.  A.  I. 


Plate  IX. 


Bulletin   No.  48,  B.  A.  I. 


Plate  X. 


ANIMAL    INDUSTRY    OF    ARGENTINA. 


49 


lota  of  5  cows  each.  They  were  given  the  same  food  and  milk  morn- 
ing and  evening  for  three  days  under  the  inspection  of  the  judges. 
Seven  lots  of  Shorthorns,  two  of  Holsteins,  one  of  Shorthorn-Flemish, 
and  one  of  Polled  Angus  were  entered.  Championship  prizes  were 
offered  for  the  group  showing  the  greatest  aggregate  quantit}-  of  milk, 
quality  considered,  and  for  the  one  showing  the  greatest  percentage  of 
butter  fat.  All  the  cows  were  accompanied  by  their  calves  and  had,  of 
course,  been  carefully  selected  and  prepared  for  this  competition, 
though  they  had  not  ])een  allowed  to  become  fat.  The  result  was  very 
gratifying  to  the  advocates  of  the  Flemish  and  the  Shorthorn-Flemish 
cross.  The  fact  should  not  be  overlooked,  however,  that  the  Flemish 
cows  were  the  result  of  fifteen  or  twent}'  years  of  careful  and  intelli- 
gent selection  from  a  large  herd  of  the  best  original  Belgian  stock 
and  its  descendants,  while  the  Holsteins  have  had  only  six  years  of 
selection  from  a  comparatively  small  herd. 

The  Holstein  people  here  feel  sure  that  their  breed  will  furnish  a 
better  animal  for  beef  and  milk  combined,  alleging  that — 

(1)  Holsteins  are  hardier,  better  adapted  to  the  open  life  of  the 
Argentine  ciimp,  to  which  they  are  subjected,  than  either  Shorthorns 
or  Flemish.  Holsteins,  they  say,  do  better  in  the  open  camp  than 
under  shelter,  requiring  the  freedom  of  the  open  air  to  produce  the 
best  results. 

(2)  Holsteins  are  less  liable  to  disease  than  either  Flemish  or  Short- 
horns. 

(8)  The  milking  qualities  of  Holsteins  of  the  same  care  in  ])reeding 
and  selection  are  equal  to  Flemish,  and  they  generalh'  produce  better 
beef  animals. 

The  official  report  of  the  milk  tests,  on  which  the  awards  of  both 
championship  prizes  were  made,  and  others,  is  as  follows,  as  reduced 
to  our  weights  and  measures: 

Record  of  tests  of  dairy  I/reeds  of  cons. 
The  produce  of  5  cows  in  each  lot  for  three  consecutive  day.s. 


Breed. 

Milk. 

Butter 
fat. 

Butter. 

Flemish 

Quarts. 
3o7. 12 
:^00. 6:^ 
3.59.86 
2;>5.72 
236. 70 
184.65 
278.96 
226. 39 
194.15 
165. 37 
149. 51 
210.80 

Per  cent. 
3.175 
3.883 
3.033 
.3.075 
3.701 
3.6.58 
3.983 
3.325 
3.816 
3. 316 
3.083 
3.400 

Pounds. 
25.58 

Shorthorn-Flemish 

26.61 

Holsteins 

22  49 

Do 

17.69 

Shorthorns 

19  86 

Do 

18  47 

Do 

18  47 

Do 

16  91 

Do 

16  71 

Do 

12  26 

Do 

10  36 

Polled  Angus 

16.18 

3369— No.  48—03- 


50  BUREAU    OF    ANIMAL    INDUSTRY. 


SACKIFICK    OK    COWS. 


There  is  no  reliable  or  complete  inforniiition  as  to  the  number  of 
cows  being  milked  or  the  number  not  ))eing  milked.  No  live-stock 
census  has  been  attempted  since  1895,  and  the  best-informed  men  in 
the  country  do  not  believe  there  has  been  much  increase  in  the  num- 
ber of  animals  since  that  time,  if  there  has  been  any  increase.  So 
many  losses  have  been  incurred,  so  many  cows  have  been  killed,  and 
the  younger  animals  have  been  drawn  upon  so  heavily  for  export  that 
the  natural  increase  has  been  kept  down.  One  estimate,  crediting 
each  cow  with  30  kilos,  or  66.13  pounds,  is  that  only  137,000  cows 
supplied  the  export  butter  trade  of  1902.  Against  this  development 
of  a  small  percentage  of  the  cows  of  the  country,  to  which  should  be 
added  those  employed  in  producing  butter  for  home  consumption  and 
other  milk  products,  which,  all  told,  can  not  be  more  than  1,000,000 
and  probably  fewer,  we  have  some  idea  of  the  destruction  of  cows. 
In  1902,  96,900  cows  were  slaughtered  in  the  saladeros,  or  jerked-beef 
factories.  This  was  more  than  three  times  as  many  as  were  consumed 
there  in  1897,  when  the  number  was  32,093.  In  the  Buenos  Aires 
slaughter  yards  84,902  cows  were  killed  for  beef  in  1901,  and  in  1902 
the  number  was  109,890.  The  same  thing  is  going  on  all  over  the 
country.  To  be  sure,  the  cows  slaughtered  are  the  inferior  ones,  but 
by  no  means  old  ones  only.  It  suits  the  men  who  are  improving  their 
stock  to  get  rid  of  the  poorer  cows  to  the  best  advantage,  and  that  is 
for  slaughter. 

"But  it  is  a  bad  thing  for  the  country  to  have  so  many  cows  killed," 
says  Ronaldo  Tidblom,  director  of  the  bureau  of  animal  industry. 
"The  better  class  of  estancieros,  those  having  valuable  camps,  may 
not  find  it  to  their  advantage  to  keep  these  cows,  but  they  are  needed 
outside  on  lands  not  so  valuable,  where  any  cow  is  l)etter  than  no  cow. 
For  the  interests  of  the  country  at  large,  we  can  not  afford  to  have 
so  many  young  cows  slaughtered,  and  measures  will  be  tjiken  to  pre- 
vent the  killing  of  cows  under  5  or  6  years  old.  We  would  like  to 
say  7  years,  but  that  is  impracticable,  because  it  is  difficult  to  keep 
account  of  the  age  of  cows  after  they  have  all  their  teeth.  So  the 
best  we  can  do  is  to  prohibit  the  killing  of  cows  before  they  hav(>  all 
their  teeth  and  are  known  to  be  5  or  6  years  old.  Then  we  hope  the 
surplus  cows  of  the  inside  camps  will  find  their  way  outside,  where 
they  are  needed.  This  subject  will  })e  discussed  in  congress  thi-; 
winter  and  something  will  be  done." 


.STATISTICS    OK    I'KOIUKTION    AND    CAPACITY. 


The  dairy  industry  is  not  yet  sufficiently  organized  to  permit  one  to 
say  what  it  costs  to  produce  a  pound  of  butter,  or  what  the  average 
yield  of  milk  per  cow  is,  or  what  cows  are  worth.     These  things 


ANIMAL   INDUSTRY    OF    ARGENTINA.  51 

can  only  bo  approximated.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  the  average  estancia 
cow  does  not  average  much  more  than  5  or  perhaps  5i  quarts  per  day, 
and  that  this  milk  will  not  test  on  the  average  through  the  year  more 
than  2.8  to  3  per  cent  butter  fat;  in  manj^  cases  it  will  be  more,  and 
in  the  fall — in  April  and  May — the  percentage  of  butter  fat  will  rise- 
considerably.  Some  herds  will  average  3  per  cent  or  a  trifle  more, 
but  3  per  cent  the  year  around  is  considered  good.  As  to  yield  in 
quantity,  many  cows  will  not  give  more  than  4  or  4^  quarts  per  day, 
while  others  will  give  much  more.  The  following  estimate  is  given 
by  the  Rural  Society  in  its  annual  report,  the  information  having  been 
furnished  by  La  Union  Argentina: 

To  produce  a  pound  of  butter,  10  English  quarts  (equal  to  12  United  States  quarts) 
or  about  25  pounds  of  milk  are  required.  The  cows  in  our  dairies  and  estancias,  a 
cross  of  Shorthorn  and  criolla  (the  native  half-wild  stock)  will  yield  alx)ut  oh  quarts 
per  day,  remaining  in  milk  for  about  210  days.  It  must  be  remembered  that  in  all 
dairy  herds  there  are  always  about  30  per  cent  of  the  cows  that  (;an  not  l)e  milked 
for  one  reason  or  another. 

The  average  cost  of  a  dairy  cow  and  calf  is  about  $30  (United  States);  if  the  yield 
is  greater  than  the  average  of  5^  quarts,  the  cost  is  proportionately  higher,  as  it  is 
considered  that  each  additional  quart  of  milk  yield  represents  an  additional  value  of 
about  $5  gold;  so  a  cow  giving  9  quarts  is  worth  from  $45  to  $50,  and  if  it  gives  from 
13  to  15  quarts,  $65  to  $75.  About  90  per  cent  of  our  dairy  cows  are  graded  Short- 
horns. Three  cows  with  their  calves  require  about  two  squares  (8J  acres)  of  land. 
Rent  of  land  is  about  $1.50  gold  per  acre  per  year.  Care  and  milking  in  each  dairy 
(120  to  150  cows)  requires  three  experienced  men.  The  wages  of  these  men  would 
be  a  little  over  $15  gold  per  month,  with  board  and  lodging,  which  represents  about 
$8  gold  in  addition.  The  price  paid  for  milk  by  the  creameries  is  about  Ij  cents 
gold  per  quart. 

The  prices  here  given  for  cows  are  rarely  realized  except  for  the 
very  best  class  of  graded  Shorthorns — known  to  have  good  blood. 
The  average  cow  sells  for  half  or  less  than  half  the  amount  quoted. 
The  rental  price  for  land  is  low  except  for  land  far  out  in  the  outside 
camps. 

At  present  the  business  is  confined  to  the  northern  two-thirds  of  the 
province  of  Buenos  Aires,  southern  and  eastern  Cordoba,  and  most 
of  Santa  Fe  and  P^ntre  Rios,  except  the  northern  parts,  where  it  is  too 
hot.  The  development  of  dairying  is  not  only  increasing  with  great 
rapidity  in  that  territory,  but  is  going  beyond  it,  especially  to  the 
south  and  west,  so  it  seems  safe  to  count  on  seeing  several  million  more 
cows  being  milked  in  two  or  three  years  and  a  consequent  enormous 
increase  in  the  exportation  of  butter  from  Argentina. 

In  the  dry  times  and  in  the  spring  when  the  grass  is  watery  the  tests 
for  butter  fat  run  very  low.  One  of  the  oldest  and  best  herds  of  beef 
Shorthorns  has  had  cows  giving  at  these  times  a.s  low  as  1.7  to  1.8  per 
cent.  Reliable  creamery  tests  through  the  year  gave  this  herd  but 
2.31  per  cent  butter  fat  on  about  3(H)  cows — a  ver}-  low  average.  In 
the  same  vicinity  another  herd,  consisting  of  Shorthorns,  grade  Short- 


52  BUREAU    OF    ANIMAL    INDUSTRY. 

horns,  and  a  slight  strain  of  rlerscv  in  some  animals,  averaged  8.22 
per  cent  of  butter  fat,  which  is  above  the  general  average  for  that 
section  of  the  country.  A  herd  of  Jerseys  belonging  to  the  cream- 
ery, of  which  250  are  alwa3^s  being  milked,  gives  4.36  per  cent  of 
butter  fat.  All  these  tests  cover  a  period  of  twenty-two  months,  four 
composite  tests  being  made  each  month.  The  locality  was  CarcaraiTa, 
province  of  Santa  Fe,  near  Rosario,  and  the  period  included  a  very 
serious  drought,  during  which  the  cows  suffered  nmch.  Some  of  them 
were  fed  a  little  dry  alfalfa  during  the  worst  time.  The  creamery 
herd  of  Jerseys  is  fed  nothing  but  a  handful  of  chopped  alfalfa  and 
bran  at  milking  time  to  keep  them  quiet.  During  this  period  of 
twenty-two  months  the  Jerseys  on  alfalfa  averaged  6^  liters  daily, 
though  this  is  far  from  a  fair  indication  of  what  they  do  there,  because 
of  the  drought  and  short  pasturage.  Many  individuals  in  this  herd 
give  20  liters  a  day  when  in  full  flow  and  test  6  percent  butter  fat — 
sometimes  as  high  as  6.8  per  cent.  The  Jersey  calves  are  taken  from 
their  mothers  as  soon  as  they  are  born,  and  most  of  the  Ijulls  are  sold 
as  soon  as  possible  for  veal.  Though  they  are  very  well  bred,  and  in 
the  United  States  would  be  valuable  for  breeding  animals,  there  is  no 
demand  for  them  there.  The  Jersey  is  a  very  unpopular  breed  in 
Argentina  because  it  gives  so  little  beef,  and,  though  occasionally  a 
rich  estanciero  or  breeder  has  a  few  Jerseys  for  his  own  family  use, 
they  are  regarded  as  an  expensive  luxury.  The  Carcarana  people 
raised  a  few  steers  from  their  Jerseys  for  their  own  use  and  found  the 
beef  good,  though  the  animals  were  small. 

c;heesk  buhiness  not  satisfactory. 

The  Carcarana  creamery  is  managed  by  an  American  and  is  one  of 
the  oldest  in  the  country,  having  until  recently  a  very  profitable,  almost 
monopolistic,  business  in  cheese.  The  Carcarana  cheese  is  famous  all 
over  the  country.  The  factory  was  started  many  jea.r»  ago  by  a  citi- 
zen of  the  United  States,  who  died  about  two  years  ago.  At  first  it 
was  a  butter  factor}',  but  the  cheese  business,  once  the  conditions 
peculiar  to  the  country  were  mastered,  was  very  profitable  until  others 
began  to  follow  them  into  the  industry,  which  resulted  in  overstocking 
the  limited  Argentine  market  with  various  sorts  of  cheese.  The  over- 
production reduced  the  price  one-third;  now  it  is  only  about  80  cents 
paper  per  kilo,  or  about  16  cents  gold  per  pound.  They  tried  to 
export,  but  lost  money  in  the  South  African  market. 

The  Carcarcana  cheese  is  a  ric-h  full-cream  cheese  of  excellent  ([ual- 
ity,  but,  like  all  other  cheese  made  in  Argentina,  its  sale  is  and  will 
for  some  time  be  limited.  The  cheese  industr}'  in  the  country  is  more 
or  less  in  this  condition  generally  and  is  not  very  prosperous;  there- 
fore attention  is  turned  chiefly  to  butter. 


ANIMAL    INDUSTRY    OF    ARGENTINA. 


53 


EXPERIMENTS   IX    fOMPARISOX    OF   BREEDS. 

An  experiment  recently  made  on  the  Granja  Blanca  estancia,  near 
Las  Heras,  60  miles  southwest  of  Buenos  Aires,  gives  a  reliable 
record  and  comparison  of  four  lots  of  cows — two  of  Shorthorns,  one 
of  Flemish,  and  one  of  Holsteins— covering  an  entire  year.  The  fol- 
lowing table  gives  the  result  in  United  States  quarts: 

MUk  yield  and  percentage  of  biUter  fal  in  cows  of  different  breedn. 


Year  and  month. 


Herd  No.  1,  170 
Shorthorns. 


Herd  No.  2, 170 
Flemish. 


Herd  No.  3,  130 
Holsteins. 


Herd  No.  4,  170 
Shorthom.s. 


Quarts. 


1901. 

Julj' 18,927 

August 22, 173 

September '  20,302 

October '  22,847 

November 30, 411 

December 33,955 


1902. 


January . 
Febniarj' 

March 

April 

May 

June 


Percent- 
age of 
butter 
fat. 


34,574 
34,942 
28,916 
26,397 
19,047 
17,662 


3.7 
3.7 
3.4 
2.9 
3.1 
2.8 

3.4 
3.5 
3.8 
4.3 
4.3 
3.8 


Quarts. 


Percent- 
age of 
butter 
fat. 


17,964 
13,758 
19,243 
22, 736 
30,594 
31,669 


31, 173 
30,181  I 
30,560  : 
30,266  ' 
27,419 
25,382 


3.2 
3.3 
2.6 
2.6 
2.4 
2.6 


2.9 
2.7 
3.2 
3.2 
3.3 
3.1 


Quarts. 


Percent- 
age of 
butter    I 
fat. 


10,908 
17,769 
14,122 
17,030 
15,202 
21,633 


24,917 
22,620 
20, 365 
13,743 
13,093 
12,336 


3.0 
3.4 
3.4 
2.6 


3.1 
3.0 
3.3 
3.6 
3.6 
3.5 


Quart-s. 


17,3.55 
19,368 
17,966 
20,483 
32,  .536 
42, 479 


48,376 
42,226 
33, 815 
27,063 
17,689 
13, 959 


Percent- 
age of 
butter 
fat. 


Total j     310,153 

Average 


3.6 


310,945    203,738 

!  2.9  1 


33:5, 315 


3.1 
3.3 
3.0 
2.9 

2.8 
2.8 

3.1 
3.1 
3.4 
3.6 
3.7 
3.1 


Condensed  statement. 


Breed. 


Total  production. 
Per  year.     Per.day. 


Quarts. 

No.  1,  170  Shorthorns 310, 152 

No.  2,  170  FlemLsh !        310, 945 

No.  3,  130  Holstein.s !        203,737 

No.  4,  170  Shorthorn.s I        333,316 


Qunrts. 
850 
852 
5.58 
913 


Production  per  cow.  i  Average 

'  of  butter 

Per  year.     Per  day.  i      ^^.t- 


Quart*. 
1,824 
1,828 
1,567 
1,960 


Quart*.     Per  cent. 
5  '  3.5 

5  2.9 

4  j  3.2 

5  3.2 


The  Shorthorns  have  been  going  through  a  process  of  selection  for 
eleven  years,  especially  herd  No.  1,  showing  a  little  better  results  than 
herd  No.  4.  The  Flemish  cows  were  bought  onh'  two  years  before 
and  were  not  selected  animals;  many  were  only  heifers,  so  the  com- 
parison is  hardly  fair  to  them.  The  Holsteins  have  been  on  the  place 
six  3'earis  and  included  practicalh'  the  entire  herd  of  thi.s  l)reed,  both 
inferior  and  superior.  The  Gerber  test  was  used  to  determine  the 
percentage  of  butter  fat  in  the  milk.  These  averages  are  considered 
veiy  good,  running  through  the  3'ear,  of  cows  kept  all  the  time  in  the 


54  BUREAU    OF    ANIMAL    INDUSTRY. 

open  camp.  Another  test  near  Buenos  Aires,  of  which  careful  record 
was  kept  every  day  for  ten  yeais.  foi*  each  individual  cow  in  a  herd  of 
200  orjide  Shorthorns,  nearly  pui(\  shows  a  steady  averaj^e  of  3  to  ii.5 
per  cent  of  butter  fat  through  the  year.  These  cows  were  in  the  open 
camp,  on  natural  grasses,  with  perhaps  a  little  dr}'  alfalfa  in  the  winter. 

HOW    COWS    ARK    FED. 

The  cows  in  the  Grafija  Blanca  experiment  were  given  no  dry  feed, 
except  occasionally  a  little  dry  alfalfa,  when  the  pasture  was  dry  in  the 
winter;  but  this  is  done  only  l)y  a  small  minority  of  estancieros.  Most 
cattle — and,  indeed,  these  cows  most  of  the  time — live  and  fatten  and  the 
cows  give  rich  milk  the  j'^ear  around  on  thle  native  grasses  and  nothing 
more.  They  do  not  have  so  nuich  alfalfa  in  this  part  of  the  country 
as  in  others,  as  it  does  not  do  well.  Alfalfa  in  this  section  lasts  only 
seven  years  at  best,  and  if  cattle  are  put  on  it,  only  two  years,  as  a 
rule.  But  the  native  grasses  are  very  ric^h  and,  in  ordinary  times, 
furnish  abundant  feed  through  the  year.  There  are  winter  grasses 
and  summer  grasses,  succeeding  each  other,  so  that  there  is  always 
fresh  grass;  and,  unless  a  drought  occurs,  there  is  never  need  of  giving 
dry  feed,  even  to  fatten  steers.  The  estimate  put  upon  the  carrying 
capacnty  of  the  native  grasses  in  this  district  is  2  cattle  per  square 
(4.17  acres)  the  year  around,  or  1  per  square  for  fattening.  In  the 
spring  and  summer  the  camps  will  carry  more,  especially  the  so-called 
refined  camps,  that  have  been  in  use  for  some  years  with  cattle  and 
not  overstocked,  so  the  ])etter  grasses  predominate.  But  if  pastures 
are  stocked  to  the  limit  in  the  summer  they  will  not  be  in  condition  to 
carry  the  cattle  in  the  winter. 

Not  onl3'the  wild  native  grasses,  but  several  of  the  tame  grasses  and 
forage  plants  well  known  in  Europe,  which  it  is  declared  have  never 
been  artificially  planted  here,  are  to  be  found  in  these  refined"  camps. 

Among  them  are  white  clover,  rye  grass,  and  timothy,  all  of  which 
I  have  seen  growing  on  Buenos  Aires  estancias,  where  people  insist 
that  it  has  never  been  planted.  There  are  several  others  of  these 
grasses  that  appear  and  flourish  at  different  times  in  the  year. 

The  thistles  of  Argentina  were  once  considered  one  of  the  most  valu- 
able cattle  foods,  and  in  all  the  camps  that  are  without  alfalfa  they  are 
yet  highlj!^  yalued,  and  often  come  in  ver}'  opportunel}'  when  other 
pastos,  or  grasses,  are  not  at  their  best,  especially  in  winter.  In 
fact,  it  was  with  serious  hesitation  that  estancieros  began  to  destroy 
the  thistles  in  order  to  put  in  alfalfa.  The  pioneers  in  alfalfa  l)egan 
more  than  twenty  years  ago,  and  among  the  earliest  and  most  promi- 
nent of  them  were  the  Benitz  Brothers,  from  California,  on  their 
estancia  "  La  California,"  al)out  70  miles  northwest  from  Rosario,  the 
second  city  and  produce  market  of  Argentina.  They  were  the  first  to 
have  a  league  of  land  in  alfalfa.     When  they  began  they  were  warned 


«  A  refined  camp  is  a  portion  of  the  country  better  developed  than  others. 


ANIMAL    INDUSTRY    OF    ARGENTINA.  55 

by  the  natives  of  the  f  olh'  of  plowing  up  the  thistles,  and  were  assured 
that  the}*  would  suffer  for  it,  but  their  success  has  proved  that  they 
were  right. 

But  the  usefulness  of  the  thistle  is  not  entirely  past.  The  three 
principal  varieties  that  mark  the  "retinenient"  of  the  camp  are  cardo 
negro,  or  black  thistle,  the  first  to  appear:  cardo  de  castilla,  or  Span- 
ish thistle,  which  follows  in  two  or  three  years;  and  cardo  asnal,  or 
coarse  thistle,  the  last  to  appear,  after  the  camp  has  been  in  process 
of  "refinement'"'  for  several  3^ears.  The  last  is  the  best  for  cattle  and 
is  considered  a  valuable  forage  plant  in  some  sections  where  there  is  no 
alfalfa.  It  is  green  in  the  winter,  even  in  dry  times,  and  the  cattle 
like  it. 

CARRYING   CAPACITY   OF   PASTURES. 

The  carrying  capacity  of  an  Argentine  camp  varies  so  widely  from 
the  rich  alfalfares,  or  alfalfa  pastures,  and  inside  natural  camps 
to  the  more  or  less  barren  outside  camps  that  it  is  impossible  to 
say  what  the  country  at  large  will  do.  Director  Tidblom  makes  an 
estimate  of  1  bovine  animal  to  6  acres  and  1  sheep  to  1  acre.  This 
applies  to  the  distant  pampas,  where  the  grasses  are  not  so  rich  and 
the  water  is  scarce,  but  it  does  not  appl}'^  to  the  sections  in  which  cat- 
tle are  fattened,  or  where  they  will  be  fattened  for  a  good  many  j^ears. 
Regions  like  that  will  produce  stock  cattle  to  be  fattened  on  richer 
pasturage,  nearer  market.  In  the  province  of  Cordoba,  for  instance, 
the  natural  grass,  or  pasto  fuerte,  as  it  is  called,  will  carry  about  800 
animals  per  league,  or  1  to  8  acres,  but  they  do  not  get  fat  by  an}-^ 
means.  On  the  same  land  put  into  alfalfa  3,000  head  of  cattle  are 
kept  fat  the  year  around.  The  land  is  divided  into  several  poteros, 
or  pastures,  and  the  cattle  are  moved  about  from  one  to  another  of 
these.  There  are  plenty  of  places  in  the  country  where  the  same  con- 
ditions prevail,  and  they  are  fast  being  made  over  into  alfalfares. 
Many  landowners  are  gradually  working  their  land  into  alfalfa  by 
colonizing  it  and  thus  earning  enough  from  wheat  or  flax  in  the  first 
two  or  three  years  to  pa}'  all  the  expense  of  putting  it  into  alfalfa, 
which  the  owners  could  not  afford  to  do  at  once,  and  this  system  gives 
them  a  profit  besides.  On  the  other  hand,  many  estancieros  in  the 
south  and  middle  of  the  province  of  Buenos  Aires  are  finding  it  so 
profitable  to  raise  wheat  that  they  are  renting  their  land  to  colonists 
for  wheat  or  are  putting  it  in  themselves,  rather  than  use  it  for  stock. 
In  other  parts  of  the  same  province  they  say  that  1  to  1\  animals  per 
square  (4.17  acres)  is  the  capacity  of  the  native  grasses.  In  the  same 
place  the  estimate  of  the  alfalfares  is  3  animals  per  square  for  six  to 
seven  months  out  of  the  year,  as  in  winter  there  is  not  much  alfalfa  to 
be  had.  In  the  province  of  Santa  Fe  the  native  camps  vnry  widely, 
but  in  the  southern  part,  which  is  best,  the  native  grasses  can  ])e  relied 
on  in  good  seasons  for  about  I  to  li  animals  per  square;  but  when  the 


56  BUREAU    OF    ANIMAL    INDUSTRY. 

dry  cold  season  comes  on,  tlie  cattle  do  not  do  well  on  this  feed. 
Alfalfa  in  the  same  district  will  fatten  3  to  .5  head  per  square  in  five 
to  eight  months,  depending  on  the  co!idition  of  the  cattle  when  they 
reach  the  place,  and  the  nature  of  the  8eason-«-whether  the  alfalfa  is 
in  prime  condition  or  needing  rain.  In  the  province  of  Buenos  Aires, 
where  they  liaA(>  alfalfa,  it  usually  does  not  endure  feeding  well, 
except  in  certain  exceptional  parts.  The  native  grasses  are  more 
relied  upon,  as  they  are  much  better  there  than  in  the  upper  provinces. 
In  Cordoba  and  Santa  Fe  they  are  forced  to  put  in  alfalfa,  as  otherwise 
the  camps  would  not  be  stocked,  except  with  inferior  criolla,  or  native, 
cattle. 

As  a  general  rule,  in  the  majority  of  cases,  little  or  no  provision  is 
made  b^^  estancieros  against  the  usual  annual  dry  season  in  the  winter 
or  for  extreme  droughts,  and  the  cattle  suffer  accordingly.  Of  course, 
there  are  many  exceptions  to  this  improvidence,  notably  in  the  older 
and  more  valuable  inside  camps,  and  the  success  attained  by  the  men 
who  have  taken  the  better  care  of  their  stock  during  the  cold  and  dry 
seasons  have  done  much  to  teach  the  necessity  and  profit  of  prepar- 
ing to  give  stock  dry  feed  during  times  of  drought,  and  to  finish  steers 
on  grain.  Cheap,  frozen,  grass-fed  beef  will,  of  course,  continue  to 
be  sold  in  England,  but  for  export  alive  and  for  chilled  beef  of  the 
best  quality,  alfalfa  or  the  native  grasses  alone  will  not  produce  ani- 
mals that  will  command  high  prices. 

ADVICE   OF   AN   AKGKNTINE   PACKER. 

Mr.  Daniel  Kingsland,  manager  of  the  new  chilled-meat  works  in 
La  Plata,  near  Buenos  Aires,  has  just  issued  a  circular  to  estancieros 
giving  them  advice  as  to  the  best  kind  of  animals  to  meet  the  demands 
of  the  chilled-meat  trade.  His  suggestions  have  added  importance 
from  the  fact  that  he  is  an  old  resident  of  the  country,  a  producer  of 
beef  animals  himself,  and  knows  the  conditions  and  possibilities  of  the 
countr}'  well.     In  his  circular  he  says: 

With  regard  to  cattle,  the  export  of  beef  in  a  refrigerated  or  chilled  state  to  the 
United  Kingdom  is  now  an  accomplished  fact,  but  is  still  in  its  infancy,  and  places 
this  country  in  the  position  of  being  the  principal  competitor  of  the  United  States  of 
North  America,  which  has  hitherto  enjoyed  the  whole  of  this  trade.  To  compete 
with  them  successfully,  it  is  our  opinion  that  great  care  should  be  taken  to  produce 
bullocks  which  will  always  be  worth  more  for  this  purpose  and  command  a  higher 
price  than  for  any  other.  For  chilling,  it  is  not  necessary  to  send  extremely  lieavy- 
weight  cattle.  Bullocks  of  two  and  a  half  to  three  years  old,  well  linished,  and 
weighing  from  550  to  620  kilos,  or  an  average  weight  of  580  kilos  (1,213  to  1,367 
pounds,  or  an  average  of  1,278  j^ounds),  will  command  the  best  prices.  To  produce 
this  article  from  the  average  well-bred  mestizo  (grade<l  animal),  now  plentiful,  it 
does  not  matter  whether  the  cross  is  Durham,  Polled  Angus,  Hereford,  Red  Lincoln, 
or  any  other  meat-producing  strain,  so  long  as  the  animals  are  always  well  fed  and 
looked  after  in  the  winter  season,  when  grass  is  scarce,  or  any  other  time  when  there 
should  ))e  a  shortage  of  feed,  never  allowing  the  animals  to  become  poor.  This  can 
be  done  by  always  growing  a  certain  amount  of  alfalfa,  corn,  or  other  foods  for  winter 


Bulletin  No.  48,  B.  A.  I. 


Plate  XI. 


Bulletin  No.  48,  B.  A.  I. 


Plate  XII. 


ANIMAL    INDUSTRY    OB'   ARGENTINA. 


57 


feeding.  By  doing  this  estancieros  will  liave  no  difficulty  in  producing  the  animals 
required  all  the  year  around,  and  the  results  will  be  natisfactory  to  themselves. 
The  trojible  and  expense  of  cultivating  a  small  proportion  of  their  land  in  order  to 
provide  food  for  the  winter  and  fattening  stock  in  bad  seasons  will  be  well  repaid. 

Concerning  the  production  of  lambs  for  export,  Mr.  King.sland  says: 

The  i)roduction  of  lambs  for  export  shows  the  greatest  room  for  improvement,  and 
should  give  good  results  to  those  who  undertake  to  i)roduce  the  suitable  article. 
This  can  be  done  by  introducing  meat-jjroducing  strains  of  sheep  into  your  flocks, 
such  as  Hampshire,  Southdown,  Oxford,  Shropshire,  and  also  Border  Leicester  rams, 
and,  for  the  low  camps,  Romney  Marsh  rams.  Then  by  winter  feeding  the  ewes, 
enabling  them  always  to  have  plenty  of  milk  for  their  lambs,  they  would  fatten 
at  from  five  to  seven  months  old  to  average  30  kilos  (66  pounds)  live  weight,  and 
would  be  worth  10s.,  or  even  more.  Lambs  intended  for  export  should  never  be 
shorn,  as  it  throws  them  back,  and  the  wool  obtained  barely  covers  the  cost  of 
shearing.  By  producing  lambs  and  selling  them  at  this  age,  you  are  turning  your 
capital  every  year,  and  therefore  doubling  your  producing  powers.  The  following 
facts  will  show  you  how  far  we  are  behind  New  Zealand,  which  country  is  our  chief 
competitor  m  the  frozen-sheep  industry:  The  total  numter  of  sheep  of  all  classes  in 
New  Zealand  last  year  was  about  20,000,000,  and  it  exported  nearly  4,000,000  of 
frozen  sheep  and  lambs.  At  the  same  time  we  had  100,000,000  sheep  in  this  country 
and  our  export  was  only  3,500,000.  These  figures  speak  for  them.selves,  and  should 
be  an  object  lesson  as  to  the  possibilities  in  the  production  and  early  maturing  of  fat 
lambs;  and  it  has  also  had  the  effect  of  increasing  the  value  of,  and  extending  the 
demand  for,  land  suitable  for  the  production  of  lambs  to  a  very  great  extent.  We 
would  strongly  advise  estancieros  to  lay  themselves  out  to  prepare  a  cei-tain  number 
of  lambs  for  export  every  year.  The  results  must  be  of  the  most  satisfactory  nature 
to  them  and  will  increase  the  value  of  the  flocks  and  camps  all  around. 


LIVE    STOCK    CENSUS. 


No  one  knows  how  many  cattle  there  are  in  Argentina.  Authorities 
disagree  in  their  estimates,  but  it  is  now  quite  generally  admitted  that 
the  estimates  that  have  been  given  during  the  past  two  or  three  years 
are  too  high.  The  last  regular  live-stock  census,  taken  in  1895,  com- 
pared with  the  previous  one,  taken  in  1888,  is  as  follows: 

Live-stock  census  of  Argentina,  1888  and  1895. 


Kind  of  animals.              1888. 

1805. 

Kind  of  animals. 

1888. 

1896. 

CATTLE.                    Number, 
Criollos  (native) 17,  .574, 572 

Number. 

14, 197, 159 

4,678,34S 

72,216 

J  1,800,799 

1      953,004 

21,701,526  1 

SHEEP. 

Criollos  (native) 

Number. 
24,322,214 

42,002,871 
381,012 

Number. 
17,938,061 
56,106,187 
3a5,314 

MeKtizo;^  (graded ) 3, 388, 801 

Purebreds 37,858 

Mestizos  (graded) 

Purebreds 

Total 

Milch  cow.s..                                 Q~~  ,rfn 

66, 706, 097 

74  379  56"' 

Total  live  .stock: 

Cattle 

Total i  21,%1,657 

21,961,657 
4,2»4,032 
66, 706, 097 

21,701,526 

HORSES.                        1 

Horses 

4,446,8.59 
74. 379. 562 

4,016,297 
414,985 

Sheep 

Pigs 

393,758  ,          6.52,766 

Mestizos  (graded) '        269, 009 

Asses  and  mules 

Goats 

417,494  j          48.3,369 
1,894,386  ;       2,748,860 

i       '     i 

Total !    4,234,032  1    4,446,859 

58 


BUREAU    OF    ANIMAL    INDUSTRY. 


Statistics  just  published  by  the  bureau  of  statistics  of  the  department 
of  ajifricuUuro,  coverinj^  about  three-fourths  of  the  countrv,  show  that 
where  in  1895  (here  were  16,256,3(53  cattle,  ther«^  are  now  only 
15,446,852,  a  decrease  of  5  per  cent.  The  correctness  of  these  figures 
has  ])een  challenged,  and  the  bureau  of  animal  industry  is  arranging 
to  take  a  census  that  will  be  more  reliable.  Still,  it  is  well  known  that 
there  is  a  much  less  number  of  cattle  in  some  parts  of  the  country,  nota- 
T)ly  in  the  southwest  and  in  the  north.  Droughts,  overstocking,  garra- 
pata  ticks,  foot-and-mouth  disease,  and  anthrax  have  carried  off  many 
thousands.  Cows  have  been  sacrificed,  thus  interfering  with  the  natural 
increase,  until  the  Government  is  planning,  as  previously  explained, 
to  take  steps  to  stop  it.  Younger  animals  are  being  sent  to  market 
also.  The  most  conservative  estimates  do  not  place  the  total  number 
of  cattle  in  the  country  at  more  than  24,000,000,  though  it  must  be 
admitted  that  it  is  most  difficult  to  arrive  at  a  safe  estimate  or  to  find 
a  sure  basis  to  figure  on. 

Estimates  on  the  number  of  sheep,  based  on  the  amount  of  the  clip, 
on  known  conditions,  careful  reports  from  the  sheep  sections,  and  inti- 
mate knowledge  of  the  business,  vary  from  80,000,000  to  115,000,000. 
It  is  probably  fair  to  conclude  that  the  real  number  is  a  little  below  an 
average  between  these  two  figures. 

p:XPORTATlON    OF    LIVE    STOCK. 


During  January,  Februar}",  March,  and  April,  when  the  English 
ports  were  open  to  Argentine  live  stock,  the  number  of  animals 
exported  was: 

Exports  of  live  stock  from  Argentina,  January  to  April,  1903. 


Cattle. 

Sheep. 

Horses. 

M\iles. 

■  Asses. 

January  and  February  (chiefly  to  England,  South 

11,926 

48,663 

1,234 

7.388 

5,597 

March: 

10,319 
959 
264 

29, 203 

12,880 

3 

34 

150 
27 

To  South  A  f rica                     

71 

20 

Total 

11,542 

42,08(i 

211 

74 

20 

April 

12,877 

44,105 

529 

997 

30 

«Knglish  ports  open  to  Argentine  live  .stock  February  3  and  dosed  May  9,  1SX)3. 
'>The  actual  totals  for  March  frtmi  revised  retunis  were:  Cattle,  13,5iM;  sheep,  47,931.  horses,  626; 
mules,  89;  asses,  .30.     Destinations  are  not  given. 

The  average  weight  of  the  steers  exported  is  given  at  1,462  pounds. 

Consideral)le  complaint  has  been  made  by  the  exporters  of  live  stock 
about  the  delays  and  expense  of  the  inspection,  disinfection,  and  fit- 
tings retpiired  b}'  the  Government  for  the  exportation  of  live  stock. 
l^ut  no  (U)ubt  these  will  be  overcome  in  time.  The  Government 
appears  determined  to  use  all  possible  precautions  to  prevent  diseased 


ANIMAL    INDUSTRY    OF    ARGENTINA.  59 

animals  from  being  exported  and  to  provide  that  the  animals  shall 
have  such  care  on  the  voyage  as  that  the}^  shall  arrive  at  their  desti- 
nation in  good  condition. 

The  results  were  not  what  had  been  expected,  for  various  reasons. 
A  great  majority  of  the  cattle  that  did  not  do  well  on  the  voj'age  were 
wild,  untamed  brutes.  They  were  bruised  and  frightened  in  the  rail- 
way cars  coming  to  Buenos  Aires.  Arriving  there,  thev  were  unac- 
customed to  such  close  quarters,  did  not  know  how  to  eat  dry  food, 
and,  being  hustled  about  and  lifted  on  board  in  great  cages  high  in  the 
air,  they  were  still  more  frightened.  On  board  they  knew  still  less 
how  to  adjust  themselves  to  their  new  surroundings,  failed  to  eat, 
were  probably  not  so  well  cared  for  as  they  might  have  been,  and  some 
very  heavy  losses  resulted.  One  ship  was  out  twenty  days  longer 
than  expected,  and  the  animals  had  little  to  eat.  Several  lost  from  20 
to  30  per  cent  of  the  animals  on  board,  and  those  that  got  through 
were  in  bad  condition.  The  sales  ran  from  £12  to  £2S  ($58.32  to 
$111.78  U.  S.)  in  the  English  markets.  Several  cargoes  were  sold  at 
£12  to  £16  ($58.32  to  $77.76  U.  S.),  which  meant  heavy  losses.  The 
animals  cost  in  Argentina  from  £8  to  £11  ($40.88  to  $53.46  U.  S.), 
generally  about  £10  ($48.60  U.  S.).  The  ocean  freight  was  from  £3 
10s.  to  £4  10s.  ($16.91  to  $21.87  U.  S.),  the  former  being  the  lowest 
rate  at  the  time  the  ports  were  closed  (May  9).  The  rates  for  sheep 
were  6s.  a  head.  Then  there  was  the  cost  of  feed  and  care  besides,  so 
that  £18  ($87.48  U.  S.)  was  the  lowest  price  that  gave  a  profit.  Rates 
to  South  Africa  were  £4  ($19.44  U.  S.)  for  cattle  and  6s.  ($1.44  U.  S.) 
for  sheep.  To  Para,  Brazil,  where  a  small  but  regular  trade  in  cattle 
has  been  worked  up,  the  rate  is  £4  10s.  ($21.87  U.  S.)  per  head.  The 
ships  used  in  the  trade  are  not  specially  adapted  to  the  lousiness.  There 
was  lack  of  proper  ventilation,  the  fittings  were  not  alwajs  what  they 
should  have  been,  and,  in  fact,  the  business  was  just  being  learned  and 
better  ships  were  being  offered  when  the  foot-and-mouth  outbreak  put 
a  stop  to  it  for  a  time. 

But  the  chief  lesson  learned  by  Argentines  in  their  latest  experi- 
ment with  cattle  exportation  was  that  they  must  abandon  their  hopes 
of  getting  prices  equal  to  those  obtained  for  the  prime  corn-fed  steers 
from  the  United  States  unless  the}'  also  feed  their  animals  grain  to 
finish  them  for  market.  The}^  also  learned  that  a  wild  animal  will  not 
come  off  the  range,  take  a  railway  journey,  and  go  on  shipboard  and 
travel  four  weeks  unless  he  has  been  prepared  for  it  b}'  taming  and 
feeding  before  he  leaves  the  estancia.  So  we  may  expect  to  see  the 
Argentine  estancieros  begin  within  a  year  or  two  to  put  grain-fed 
steers  on  the  market,  but  not  in  large  numbers. 

HEALTH    OF   LIVE   STOCK. 

Aside  from  the  anthrax,  which  is  still  very  bad  in  the  province  of 
Entre  Rios  and  in  certain  parts  of  the  province  of  Buenos  Aires,  and 


60  BUREAU    OF    ANIMAL    INDUSTRY. 

the  gairapatji,  or  Texas  fever  ticks,  which  infegt  the  northern  prov- 
inces, the  health  of  the  cattle  is  ^ood.  The  f(K)t-aiid-inoiith  disease, 
referred  to  elsewhere,  is  regarded  as  a  verj^  small  aii'air  that  will  soon 
be  ended  so  far  as  the  better  part  of  the  country  is  concerned. 
The  past  season  and  the  present  one  have  been  favorable  t(j  the 
health  of  cattle,  except  in  a  few  places,  where  the}'  have  suffered 
from  severe  droughts.  The  Government  is  making  a  brave  effort  to 
confine  the  ticks  to  the  warmer  sections,  where  they  are  thickest,  and 
to  prohibit  cattle  from  coming  south  beyond  a  certain  point. 

For  many  years  cattle  have  been  brought  down  from  the  Chaco  and 
other  parts  of  northern  Argentina  to  be  fattened  on  the  ricli  camps  of 
the  provinces  of  southern  Santa  Fe,  Cordoba,  Entre  Rios,  and  north- 
ern Buenos  Aires.  It  has  been  a  very  good  business,  for  the  pro- 
ducers of  stock  cattle  on  these  cheap  northern  camps  could  afford  to 
sell  their  stock  at  very  low  prices.  The  cattle  were  immune  from  the 
fever,  though  carrying  plenty  of  ticks.  In  this  way  some  of  the  best 
stock  regions  were  infested  with  ticks.  But  those  who  brought  these 
cattle  down,  paying  $15  or  $20  for  2-year-olds,  keeping  them  on  grass 
for  a  year  or  so,  and  selling  them  at  prices  ranging  from  $35  to  $60, 
strongh'  objected  to  having  this  business  interfered  with.  The  ques- 
tion was  discussed  for  several  years  before  the  Government  finally 
established  a  line  and  required  the  cattle  crossing  it  coming  south 
to  be  dipped.  It  was  made  compulsory  to  use  a  certain  dip, 
and  that  was  another  source  of  controversy,  the  claim  being  made 
that  other  dips  were  equally  good.  But  the  Government  authori- 
ties insist  that  their  dip  is  the  only  one  that  will  actually  kill  the 
ticks,  while  other  dips  shnply  cause  them  to  drop  off  the  animals. 
The  establishment  of  this  line  affected  the  saladeros,  or  jerked-beef 
factories,  the  shipment  of  fat  steers  to  Buenos  Aires,  and  the  bring- 
ing of  steers  down  from  the  north  to  fatten.  In  the  province  of  Entre 
Rios,  where  the  saladeros  are  located,  the  movement  of  live  stock  fur- 
nished a  large  part  of  the  provincial  revenues,  and  its  paitial  cui-tail- 
ment  inflicted  hardship  on  the  provincial  government.  It  is  generally 
claimed  that  the  official  dipping  stations  are  wholly  inadequate.  The 
animals  are  submerged  one  at  a  tiuie  in  a  cage  let  into  the  bath  by  a 
sort  of  derrick.  It  is  impossible  to  dip  more  than  200  or  250  per  day 
of  these  wild  animals.  All  sorts  of  objections  were  and  are  still  being 
raised.  Besides,  many  stockmen  regard  the  whole  thing  as  nonsense 
and  claim  that  the  ticks  do  not  carry  the  Texas  fever.  Several  post- 
ponements of  the  taking  effect  of  the  decree  were  made,  but  it  finally 
went  into  operation  on  April  1,  1903,  During  that  month  it  was  sus- 
pended, so  far  as  Entre  Rios  was  concerned,  until  July  31,  under  an 
agreement  with  the  provincial  government  that  it  would  cooperate 
with  the  Federal  (lovei'nment  at  the  end  of  that  time  in  ynitting  it  into 
full  force.     The  provincial  government  is  to  erect  enough  dipping 


ANIMAL   INDUSTRY    OF    ARGENTINA.  61 

stations  to  accommodate  the  demands.  The  Minister  of  Agriculture 
has  just  refused  to  further  extend  the  time  when  dipping  will  be 
required. 

THE   SHEEP   BUSINESS. 

During  the  first  six  months  of  the  year  1902,  and  in  the  latter  part 
of  1901,  the  sheep  business  in  Argentina  was  ver}^  discouraging  and  the 
Argentines,  always  quick  to  take  up  a  promising  new  thing  and  just 
as  quick  to  run  from  it  when  they  strike  a  bad  season,  began  to  sell  their 
sheep  for  nearly  nothing.  Sheep  could  be  bought  b}'  thousands  for 
$1.50  to  $2  and  many  were  sold  for  $1  paper,  or  from  45  to  90  cents 
gold  each.  Various  causes  contributed  to  this,  but  the  low  prices  of 
wool  and  mutton  were  the  chief  ones.  The  British  ports  were  closed 
to  live  sheep  and  the  freezing  companies  paid  what  the}^  pleased  for 
fat  wethers  and  lambs — usuall}^  from  $4  to  $6  paper,  rarely  more  than 
15.50.  The  best  wools  were  selling  at  15  to  20  pov  cent  less  than  now. 
The  home  demand  for  mutton  was  not  suiBcient  to  make  a  price  better 
than  $2  to  $4  in  Buenos  Aires.  The  coarse  Lincoln  wools  especially 
were  not  in  demand  and  were  being  shipped  in  great  quantities  to  the 
United  States  for  carpet  manufacture.  Now  the  markets  are  better 
for  both  wool  and  mutton  and  a  change  is  coming  over  the  Argentine 
flocks.  This  was  one  of  the  most  striking  features  of  the  great  annual 
show,  and  it  points  to  conditions  that  offer  to  the  sheep  breeders  of  the 
United  States  an  opportunity  to  make  some  sales  of  Rambouillet  and 
Merino  rams.  Of  the  1,718  sheep  exhibited  and  offered  for  sale,  955 
were  Lincolns,  but  they  did  not,  as  heretofore,  bring  the  highest  prices 
or  command  the  most  interest.  The  Down  breeds,  the  Rambouillets, 
and  the  Merinos  were  more  sought  after,  in  proportion  to  their  num- 
bers, and  their  numbers  were  greater  than  in  any  previous  show.  It 
will  be  noticed  that  the  Lincolns  stood  third  in  the  average  price  of 
sale,  closely  pressed  by  the  Oxford  Downs.  The  prices  were  not  so 
high  as  in  1901,  when  the  champion  Rambouillet  ram  sold  for  $7,300, 
and  this  year  it  sold  for  only  $2,000.  But  the  highest  priced  Lincoln 
was  otily  $1,600.  In  a  later  sale  in  January  a  group  of  4:  Lincolns  sold 
for  an  average  of  $1,750,  the  highest  price  being  $2,300. 

In  this  sale  (January  21,  22,  and  23)  383  rams,  mostly  shearlings, 
from  16  to  28  months  old,  were  sold  with  the  following  results: 

Average  price. 

267  Lincoln  rams,  purebred $206.  53 

75  Lincoln,  grades 46. 13 

41  Black-faced  purebred  rains 121.  27 


62 


BUREAU    OF    ANIMAL    INDUSTRY. 
Jligtiest  and  lowest  prices  oj  principal  breeders. 


Breed. 


Ltncolns. 


Hamp-shires . . . 
Oxford  Downs. 
Shropshires 


Owner. 


Puchuri&Co 

Mendlborri 

Espiirtillar 

Gee.  Lopcn 

Manuel  Jo.se  ('oImj  . 
B.  Giraeiiez  \\i7.  . . . 
Hector  F.  C(V.sares. , 
Leonardo  Pereyra  , 


Number 
sold. 


Highest. 


$2,800 
770 
1,200 
600 
600 
480 
200 
320 
160 


Lowest. 


$1,300 
340 
170 
150 
320 
170 
100 
200 
100 


Average. 


$1,750 
474 
292 
391 
^80 
243 


With  the  exception  of  the  Puchuri  and  Mendiberri  lots,  these  were 
the  second  picking  of  the  flocks,  the  best  having  been  sent  to  the 
Palermo  show  the  previous  September.  These  two  breeders  did  not 
exhibit  at  Palermo.  With  these  exceptions  the  animals  were,  on  the 
whole,  inferior  to  those  shown  at  Palermo,  especially  the  Downs. 
The  following  is  from  the  manager  of  the  largest  live-stock  auction 
house,  whoso  opportunities  for  studying  the  needs  of  Argentine  breed- 
ers are  unsurpassed: 

In  my  opinion  this  year's  tendency  has  been  toward  the  Black-faced  sheep,  the 
Downs,  a  tendency  which  is  likely  to  grow  until  the  breed  impresses  itself  upon  the 
country  over  the  Lincolns  and  Rambouillets,  just  as  in  former  years  the  Lincolns 
impose<l  themselves  against  the  Merino  types.  The  reasons  for  this  are  early  matu- 
rity, hardy  constitution,  quality  of  meat,  and  equal  price  for  wool.  These  are  the 
same  conditions  which  in  other  times  secured  superiority  for  the  Lincolns,  a  superi- 
ority which  has  commenced  to  vanish  on  account  of  the  excess  of  production.  I 
attribute  this  evolution  of  breeds  less  to  a  distinct  suiieriority  of  any  of  them  than  to 
the  influence — the  inexorable  law — of  supply  and  demand  upon  production.  Ex- 
perience in  breeding,  combined  with  a  clear  insight  into  the  special  reciuirements 
of  camp  and  climate  for  each  of  the  improved  breeds,  will  bring  forward  the  good 
qualities  they  all  possess. 

The  objection  of  the  exporters  to  the  big  Lincoln,  both  on  the  hoof 
and  as  frozen  mutton,  has  had  a  great  influence  upon  the  breeding  of 
a  better  mutton,  one  that  gives  a  smaller,  firmer,  leaner  meat.  The 
overproduction  of  the  coarse  Lincoln  wool  was  the  other  strong  influ- 
ence, although  this  season  there  has  been  some  improvement  in  the 
price  of  Lincoln  cross  wool.  The  opinion  is  quite  general  in  the  coun- 
try that  the  breeding  of  Lincolns  has  gone  too  far,  and  that  a  ))etter 
mutton  and  a  finer  wool  must  be  produced.  So  the  Downs,  the  Black- 
faces, are  being  sought  for,  cspeciallv  the  Oxford  Downs,  and  also 
the  Shropshires.  The  demand  for  Raml)ouillets  is  still  strong.  As  it 
is  now  for))idden  to  bring  raius  or  an}'  other  live  stock  from  (xermany 
or  any  other  part  of  the  Continent  of  Europe^  and  as  the  Merino  types 
are  again  being  sought  after,  it  is  plain  that  this  is  the  time  for  our 
breeders  to  send  their  best  animals  to  this  country,  just  as  they  did 


ANIMAL   INDUSTRY    OF    ARGENTINA.  63 

many  j^ears  ago,  when  the  first  Merinos  were  brought  to  Argentina 
from  Vermont. 

Several  hundred  Lincoln  rams  have  already  been  imported  from 
England,  and  are  being,  or  h^ve  been,  sold  at  auction.  The  prices  were 
very  good,  one  lot  of  20  rams  and  10  lambs  averaging  $908  each  for 
the  rams  and  $302  for  the  lambs.  Another  lot  of  6  averaged  $1,175; 
one  sold  for  $3,000.  Ten  ram  lambs  averaged  $237.  Another  lot  of  4 
averaged  $314.  Among  the  arrivals  from  England  were  54  Shropshire 
rams  and  62  Shropshire  ewes;  also  15  Hampshire  Down  rams,  upon 
order.     This  breed  is  quite  extensively  used  in  Argentina. 

The  Shropshires  brought  only  about  $250  paper  each  at  the  first 
sale,  and  a  second  sale  only  $100  to  $160.  The  demand  was  quickly 
supplied. 

The  freezing  works  pa^^  a  higher  price  per  pound  of  dressed  meat 
for  the  smaller,  finer  mutton  sheep  than  for  the  coarse,  large  Lincolns, 
because  the  latter  meet  with  objections  in  the  English  market,  where 
for  several  years  they  have  sold  for  a  lower  price  than  the  smaller 
carcasses.  One  of  the  largest  frozen-meat  concerns  in  the  country 
gi"ades  its  lambs  and  muttons  into  the  following  five  classes:  No.  1,  34 
to  39  pounds;  No.  2,  40  to  48  pounds;  No.  3,  49  to  56  pounds;  No.  4, 
57  to  64  pounds;  No.  5,  65  to  72  pounds. 

The  50  to  56  pound  carcasses  are  preferred,  so  the  sheep  that  will 
dress  nearest  to  that  weight  and  furnish  a  good  qualit}'  of  muttan  is 
the  one  that  commands  the  highest  price.  The  opening  of  the  English 
ports  is,  of  course,  emphasizing  this  preference  for  the  smaller  mutton 
sheep,  creating  a  much  larger  demand  for  the  wethers.  This  will 
encourage  the  breeders  of  the  Downs,  the  Merino  types,  the  sheep  of 
smaller,  finer  carcasses  and  finer  but  lesser  weight  of  wool.  Still,  the 
imprpveuient  in  prices  of  Lincoln  and  Lincoln  cross  wools  this  3^ear 
has  encouraged  the  Lincoln  breeders,  already  so  greatly  in  the 
majority;  and  Lincoln  rams  are  still  in  strong  demand,  as  shown  by 
the  successful  sales  of  those  recently  imported  from  England. 

The  sheep  market  in  the  suburbs  of  Buenos  Aires  is  a  great  national 
institution,  under  private  management  and  well  directed.  Here  most 
of  the  sheep  in  the  Republic  are  sold,  although  many  arc  sold  on  the 
estancia,  nmch  the  same  as  cattle — that  is,  the  better  class  of  export 
lambs  and  muttons.  Prices  vary  greatly,  according  to  the  quality'  and 
weight  of  the  animals,  the  amount  of  wool  they  carry,  the  demands  of 
the  market  at  the  time  of  purchase,  the  distance  from  Buenos  Aires, 
etc.     All  sheep  are  bought  by  the  head,  as  are  cattle. 

The  price  of  the  export  type  of  mutton  sheep  has  been  going  up  for 
several  months,  more  noticeably  since  the  opening  of  the  English 
ports  to  Argentine  live  sheep.  The  top  price  now  is  $12  per  head  for 
the  best  export  wethers.     The  daily  prices  in  the  Buenos  Aires  mar- 


64  BUREAU    OF    ANIMAL    INDUSTRY. 

kct  ranjiS'c  from  $G  to  $12  for  fairly  good  aniniiils,  though  many  arc 
sold  for  less.  Thoy  arc  inferior  animals,  however.  All  the  really  good 
ones  bring  from  !t^8..5(>  to  !i^ll.50.  These  priees  are  a))out  double  those 
of  a  year  ago.  The  higher  prices  are  for  the  product  of  well-known 
estaneias,  in  large  mmibers,  where  the  animals  are  more  uniform  and 
of  exceptional  <iuality.  The  prices  vary  from  11  to  IfJ  cents  paper  per 
kilogram  Vive  weight,  the  average  at  this  time  being  about  15  cents. 
This  is  equivalent  to  a  range  of  $2.18  to  $3.20,  or  an  average  of  $2.97 
gold  per  100  pounds.  The  distinction  made  by  the  frigoriticos  is  that 
they  pay  more  for  the  small  sheep  of  line  nuitton  than  would  be  war- 
ranted if  size  only  was  the  consideration,  as  compared  with  the  price 
paid  for  the  big  Lincolns.  The  latter,  however,  give  a  greater  (juan- 
tity  of  wool,  and,  though  the  mutton  price  in  England  is  lower,  there 
are  more  pounds  to  sell,  so  the  man  who  niises  it  can  afford  to  take  a 
lower  price  per  pound.  For  these  reasons,  although  the  Ijincoln  will 
stand  less  hardship  than  the  smaller  breeds,  his  champions  in  Argentina 
arc  not  deserting  him  altogether. 

TlIK    KVOI.UTION   OK   THE   HHEEP-BltEEUINif    INDUSTRY    IN    AKCiENTINA. 

There  is  no  better  authority  on  sheep  breeding  in  Argentina  than 
Mr.  Herbert  Gibson,  vice-president  of  the  National  Rural  Society. 
His  father  before  him  was  a  sheep-breeder  there  also,  and  his  interests 
are  chiefly  concerned  with  sheep,  as  importer  of  purebred  rams, 
breeder  of  breeding  stock  for  this  country,  producer  and  purchaser  of 
wool,  and  producer  of  iimtton.  A  few  years  ago  he  published  a  >)Ook, 
"The  Histor}^  of  the  Sheep-breeding  Industry  in  the  Argentine 
Republic,"  and  it  is  considered  an  authority  to-da3%  except  as  subse- 
quent developments  have  changed  the  conditions  in  the  country.  Mr. 
Gibson  was  most  active  and  prominent  in  the  introduction  of  the 
heav3%  long-wooled  Lincolns  into  the  country  twenty  years  ago,  and 
urged  the  crossing  of  the  Lincoln  on  the  smaller  Merino  breeds  for  the 
doul)le  purpose  of  producing  the  greatest  (juantity  of  wool  and  mutton. 

For  these  reasons  importance  nmst  be  attached  to  the  recent  publi- 
cation of  an  article  in  the  Anales  de  la  Sociedad  Rural  Argentina, 
the  official  organ  of  the  Argentine  Rural  Society,  b}'  Mr.  Gibson,  in 
which  he  distinctly  modifies  his  views  regarding  the  Lincoln  breed. 
The  fact  that  this  article,  written  by  the  best-known  writer  on  the 
sheep  industry  and  one  of  the  foremost  advocates  of  the  Lincoln,  ap- 
peared in  the  chief  agricultural  and  pastoral  publication  in  the  countr}', 
is  the  best  evidence  to  be  had  of  the  great  change  that  is  now  taking 
place  in  the  sheep  industry  of  Argentina.  The  article  will  be  found 
to  be  of  the  deepest  interest  by  all  who  in  any  way  deal  in  mutton 
or  wool,  for  it  is  ])ased  on  long  and  thorough  study  and  experience 
and  is  the  verdict  of  a  man  completely  convinced  against  his  will,  who 


BuLLETi\   No.  48,  B.  A.  I. 


Plate  XIII. 


Fig.  1  .—First-prize  Yearling  Lincoln  Sheep.    Sold  for  $1,350. 


Fig.  2 —First-prize  Hampshire  Down  Ram. 


Bulletin   No.  48,  B.  A.  I. 


Plate  XIV. 


Bulletin   No.  48,  B.  A.  I. 


Plate  XV. 


ANIMAL    INDUSTRY    OF    ARGENTINA.  65 

gives  the  reasons  that  have  changed  his  opinions.     The  following  is  a 
translation  of  the  article  in  its  entirety: 

The  notable  presence  of  the  Down  type  in  the  recent  exposition  of  the  Rural 
Society  shows  a  significant  fact.  The  sheep  industry  of  this  country  is  about  to  enter 
upon  a  new  evolution.  The  supremacy  of  the  Lincoln  race  belongs  to  the  history  of 
the  past.  But  it  will  not  resign  its  empire  without  preserving  the  feudal  titles  which 
belong  to  it  by  right  and  tradition.  Hence  it  is  to  be  concluded  that  the  Lincoln 
breeder  who  writes  this,  on  welcoming  his  competitors,  is  not  disposed  in  any  way 
to  quit  the  field. 

After  sixteen  years  of  continuous  demand  for  wool  and  carcasses  of  the  Lincoln 
cross — every  time  less  cross  and  more  Lincoln— we  find  ourselves  to-day  with  the 
British  ports  closed,^  the  coarse  wool  despised,  and  our  market  limited  to  the  ■ 
demand — not  very  encouraging — of  three  freezing  estaV)lishments.  The  time  has 
therefore  arrived  to  balance  accounts  with  the  sheep  industry,  and  I  now  make 
sf)me  observations  which  this  state  of  things  will  have  suggested,  without  doubt,  to 
more  than  one  breeder. 

First.  The  production  of  crossed  wool,  fine  and  middling,  diminishes  in  my  flocks. 
Every  time  there  is  more  coarse  wool.  The  more  I  try  to  mark  my  flock  with  the 
seal  of  the  Lincoln  the  greater  is  the  amount  of  wool  "de  padres"  that  my  consignee 
rejects.  What  1  mean  is  that  the  producer  and  consumer  are  going  in  opposite  direc- 
tions. When  I  think  that  my  labor  will  be  rewarded  and  exhibit  a  Lincoln  flock^ 
typical  and  uniform,  my  consignee  rewards  me  by  sending  my  wool  to  make  carpets 
in  Xorth  America. 

Second.  It  seems  that  it  is  not  enough  that  my  wool  is  valued  in  an  order  inverse 
to  the  refinement  of  my  flock.  The  meat  market  acknowledges  still  le-ss  the  merit 
of  so  many  sacrifices.  Facu  before  the  closing  of  the  British  ports  the  exporter 
talked  to  me  about  the  mutton  of  the  Lincoln  type  as  being  too  pronounced,  too  large, 
too  heavy.  As  soon  as  the  demand  was  limited  only  to  the  market  of  the  freezing 
establishments  the  diminution  of  value  of  the  Lincoln  mutton  Avas  more  accentuated, 
than  ever.  After  twenty  years  of  laborious  progress  1  have  seemingly  achieved  the 
result  of  producing  a  mutton  whose  only  destiny  is  the  grease  tank. 

Third.  To  these  tribulations  there  is  another  to  ])e  added — that  of  the  worm.  It 
is  noticeable  that  when  you  have  succeeded  in  establishing  a  remarkable  Lincoln 
type  in  the  flock,  that  is  the  time  this  worm  causes  the  greatest  damage.  There  is  a 
predisposition  on  the  part  of  the  yearling  lamV)s  to  fall  victims  to  Ovinr  padeurolosis 
and  to  succuml)  to  its  effects.  The  spring  brood  experiences  more  and  more  every 
year  a  notable  decrea.se  during  the  dry  and  hot  months  of  the  following  fall. 
Our  afflicted  shepherd  will  surely  not  find  a  ready  and  easy  solution  of  the  problem 
which  confronts  him;  and  if  some  of  the  causes  that  have  contributed  to  this  painful 
situation  are  marked  out,  it  depends  on  the  ability  of  each  individual  to  apply  them 
to  his  own  case  and  to  determine  which  modifications  ought  to  be  introduced. 

The  good  prices  obtaine<l  during  the  last  decade  for  the  wool  and  nuitton  of  Lin- 
coln cross  have  induced  us  to  overstock  our  ranges  with  sheep.  This  was  a  great 
mistake.  It  is  not  enough  that  during  certain  periods  of  the  year  sheep  are  fat  if  at 
other  times  they  are  insuffi(;iently  fed.  This  overstocking  has  brought  what  the 
English  call  "dirty  pa.sture,"  and  consequently  the  scale  of  mortality  increases. 

The  true  Lincoln  type  has  experienced  a  modification  in  this  country,  owing  to 
the  demand  for  size.  Its  fleece  has  lost  the  uniformity  which  characterized  it 
twenty  years  ago.  Its  form  has  been  exaggerated.  The  purity  of  the  type  has  been 
somewhat  sacrificed  in  order  to  obtain  a  large  quantity  of  meat  and  volume  of  wool. 


«  November,  1902. 
3369— No.  48-03 5 


66  BUREAU    OF    ANIMAL   INDUSTRY. 

Vigor  and  vitalitj' — qualities  necessary  to  transmit  in  their  purity  to  thebreed — have 
been  sacrificed  in  this  way. 

A  rain  l)orn  and  bred  in  the  stable,  artificially  fed  from  its  birth  and  forced  to  a 
precocious  development,  can  not  transmit  to  its  descendants  the  qualities  of  robust- 
ness necessary  to  our  system  of  sheep  breeding.  The  English  breeds  do  not  owe 
their  good  reputation  to  measures  taken  agaixist  nature,  nor  have  their  typical  quali- 
ties been  produced  in  this  way,  and  the  practice  in  our  breeding  establishments, 
whose  only  object  is  a  great  development,  is  too  artificial.  It  is  true  we  ought  not 
to  neglect  the  breeding  animals  destined  for  the  exposition,  and  we  ought  to  feed 
them  with  the  best  fodder,  keep  their  fleece  in  the  best  condition,  and  put  into 
practice  every  legitimate  art  to  present  them  in  the  most  perfect  way  before  the 
public.  But  it  seems  only  reasonable,  nevertheless,  to  allow  them  at  least  to  breathe 
the  pure  air  of  the  field  and  not  the  heavy  atmosphere  of  a  half-closed  and  half-dark 
stable,  to  oblige  them  to  walk  and  to  graze,  and  lastly  to  always  keep  in  mind  in 
preparing  them  that  the  breeder  produces  wool  and  meat  in  God's  pastures  and  not 
in  a  factory  lighted  with  electric  light. 

Passing  over  the  causes  why  the  Lincoln  breed  has  not  given  all  the  results  desired 
by  its  advocates,  we  come  to  another  condition  of  our  national  flocks,  to  wit,  their 
tendency  toward  unification.  No  one  will  deny  the  beneficial  results  of  cros.sing  the 
half-breed  weak  Merino  with  the  robust  Lincoln,  to  whose  blood  we  are  indebted 
for  the  improvement  of  form,  the  firm  and  healthy  basis,  and  the  rugged  constitu- 
tion which  contribute  to  strengthen  our  sheep  in  the  struggle  against  the  open-air 
life  and  the  climatic,  topographic,  and  economical  conditions  of  our  system  of  sheep 
breeding.  But  the  law  of  compensation  is  applied  to  stock  breeding  as  well  as  to 
other  industries.  We  ought  not  to  seek  either  the  one  or  the  other  extreme,  but  a 
medium.  The  demand  of  the  market  does  not  justify  the  production  of  an  exag- 
gerated specialty,  because  in  order  to  obtain  this  specialty  it  is  necessary  to  sacrifice 
certain  qualities  for  the  benefit  of  others,  and  sooner  or  later  defects  appear.  In  this 
respect  the  Lincoln  breed  has,  or,  to  speak  more  correctly,  had  grown  too  popular. 

The  stock-breeding  economy,  as  well  as  all  others,  is  an  unending  history  of 
ingrafting.  The  law  of  nature  marks  the  step,  always  modifying,  always  molding, 
always  surprising  us  with  her  evolutions,  always  reminding  us  while  we  painfully 
advance  through  the  way  of  progress  that  man  lives  by  the  sweat  of  his  brow  and 
putting  in  our  way  obstacles  which  subdue  our  pride  at  the  very  moment  when  we 
thought  we  had  reached  the  summit  of  our  ideal.  But,  as  she  is  also  a  good  mother, 
she  relieves  our  aflfliction  by  showing  another  way,  until  then  unknown  to  us,  by 
which  she  allows  us  to  progress  again,  to  advance,  and  to  hope. 

To  ingraft,  or,  using  breeding  terms,  to  cross  the  typical  features  of  the  breeds  that 
are  crossed  is  a  prime  consideration.  It  is  well  known  that  consanguinity  marks  its 
procreation  with  all  the  charac^teristic  conditions  of  the  progenitors,  I)e  they  good  or 
bad,  and  that  consanguinity  has  been  the  means  employed  by  the  breeder  to  repro- 
duce the  type  he  wished  to  perpetuate.  In  the  crossing  of  the  breeds,  the  greater 
the  typical  purity  of  the  progenitor  the  greater  is  the  perfection  reached  in  the  off- 
spring. We  start,  then,  if  we  intend  to  cross  again,  from  a  basis  surer  than  the  one 
of  twenty  years  ago.  The  coarsenesss  of  the  mixed  I^incoln  flocks  of  the  country 
shows  a  condition  more  rational,  more  typical  than  the  mixed  Merino  flocks  showed 
then.  We  rely  on  the  existence  of  a  stock  of  rams  of  the  Rambouillet,  Lincoln,  and 
Down  V)reed8  that  will  supply  the  demand  for  sires  of  excellent  pedigrees.  The 
national  sheepfold  is  well  equipped.  There  are  elements  to  modify,  in  a  satisfactory 
way,  the  existing  sheep. 

But  outside  the  mode.«t  ability  of  the  breeder  who  writes  these  lines,  it  surpasses 
the  limits  of  an  article  to  explain  in  detail  the  process  through  which  our  national 
flocks  will  approach  more  nearly  to  a  profitable  medium  and  to  the  balance  of  pro- 
duction, which  is  so  evidently  lacking.     In  the  first  place,  we  ought  to  realize  better 


ANIMAL    INDUSTRY    OF    ARGENTINA.  67 

the  limitations  to  which  we  are  subjected  by  the  climatic  and  topographic  conditions 
of  the  regions  in  which  we  raise  our  sheep.  It  is  probable  that  the  sheep  breeder 
situated  among  the  tender  natural  pastures  of  the  South,  in  the  climate  of  frequent 
and  copious  rains  and  damp  atmosphere,  whose  flock  of  accentuated  Lincoln  type 
does  not  increase  in  the  value  of  wool  and  meat,  would  find  it  advantageous  to  do 
what  in  New  Zealand  has  given  such  satisfactory  results,  viz,  to  cross  his  Lincoln 
with  Romney  Marsh.  The  Kentish  sheep  contributes  to  impart  smoothness,  thick- 
ness, and  to  a  certain  extent  fineness  to  the  fleece  of  coarse  Lincoln,  while  the  meat 
of  this  crossing  is  in  good  demand,  and  a  greater  constitutional  robustness  is  notice- 
able in  the  offspring. 

The  breeder  with  alfalfa  pastures  will  never  be  a  great  sheep  breeder.  His  role  is 
in  the  cattle  business.  The  development  of  the  sheep  industry  on  the  alfalfa  stock 
farms  is  incompatible  with  the  production  of  fine  wool,  of  whatever  breed,  either 
Merino,  or  Lincoln,  or  any  other.  The  problem  for  the  man  with  alfalfa  has  but 
a  single  economic  side — to  produce  the  best  and  greatest  quantity  of  meat  and  to  find 
out  the  type  which  will  best  answer  this  question  only. 

While  the  freezing  establishments  and  the  exporters  of  live  sheep  do  not  reward 
quality,  paying  for  an  animal  of  the  Down  cross  a  price  greater  than  that  paid  for  an 
animal  of  Lincoln  cross,  it  is  to  be  expected  that  the  breeder  will  always  prefer  the 
animal  of  greater  weight.  But  there  are  reasons  for  thinking  that  this  will  not 
always  be  so  and  that  the  Down  breeds,  crossed  on  the  flocks  of  Lincoln  origin,  are 
destined  to  modify  the  general  type  of  the  flocks  in  the  alfalfa  regions. 

In  the  outlying  ranges  of  the  Southwest — the  zone  of  scanty  rain  and  dry  atmos- 
phere, separated  by  long  distances  and  expensive  freights  from  the  meat  markets — 
the  production  of  fine  wool  approximating  to  the  Merino  should  be  the  first  purpose 
of  the  breeder.  The  long  wool  of  the  English  white-faces  does  not  prosper  there. 
The  conditions  of  the  climate  favor  the  Merino  breed.  With  the  opening  of  a  nearer 
meat  market,  with  the  improvement  of  the  virgin  range,  and  the  planting  of  artificial 
pastures  the  meat  production  of  that  zone  might  become  a  more  important  factor 
than  it  is  to-day.  In  this  case  the  breeder  will  experience  another  process  of  evolu- 
tion, seeking  from  among  the  meat  breeds  whose  fleece  is  the  most  like  the  Merino — 
perhaps  the  Shropshire — a  new  cross  which  will  make  his  flock  a  source  of  greater 
profit  in  the  production  of  mixed  products. 

The  Argentine  breeder  needs  an  increasing  number  of  establishments  in  which  the 
typical  breeds  of  his  specialty  are  produced.  The  pure,  crossed,  or  mixed  sire  will 
disappear  in  time,  to  be  replaced  by  the  genuinely,  genealogically,  typically  pure 
sire.  The  sheep  breeder  is  called  upon  to  produce,  at  a  moderate  price,  for  the 
wholesale  sheep  raiser  a  flock  ram  for  the  general  flock,  of  a  type  and  condition 
distinctly  generic,  who  will  not  only  give  sons,  but  sons  like  himself.  This  will  pro- 
mote the  union  of  the  national  flock,  whose  production  will  improve  the  more  it 
approaches  the  medium  of  the  distinctive  qualities  of  each  breed.  But  no  breed,  no 
crossing,  will  permanently  contribute  to  the  improvement  of  the  flock  if  the  breeder 
is  not  first  imbued  with  the  principles  of  economy.  Before  finding  fault  with  the 
Rambouillet,  or  the  Lincoln,  or  the  Down,  it  will  be  well  to  think  about  the  eco- 
nomic system  of  the  farm.  In  our  eagerness  to  produce  much,  and  of  the  best, 
we  have  exacted  more  from  the  soil  than  the  soil  could  give.  The  pastures  have 
been  overcharged  with  sheep;  the  richness  of  the  soil  has  been  exhausted,  and  the 
epidemics  of  worms  and  other  like  tribulations  that  persecute  us  are  but  the  silent 
protest  of  nature,  whose  fertility  has  been  prostituted. 

A  good  friend  of  the  Argentine  Republic,  the  late  John  Nash,  of  good  memory, 
importer  of  purebred  animals,  and  one  of  the  pioneer  stockmen  in  the  alfalfa  region 
of  the  province  of  Santa  Fe,  used  to  say  that  half  of  the  crossing  of  breeds  in  stock 
enters  through  the  mouth.  We  are  not  yet  ready  to  dispense  with  these  rustic 
aphorisms  of  the  old  world.     If  we  want  to  obtain  better  incomes,  better  fleeces, 


68  BUREAU    OF    ANIMAL   INDUSTRY. 

better  carcasses,  we  must  not  forget  that  the  most  classic  ram  in  existence  was  not  a 
beauty  of  Divine  origin,  but  that  he  had  once,  in  a  period  more  or  less  remote,  ances- 
tors as  vulgar,  as  inferior,  as  common  as  a  bull  of  the  wild  herds  from"  the  Falkland 
Islamls.  There  is  no  royal  road  to  the  perfection  of  cattle  or  sheep.  We  follow  a 
path  obstructed  at  every  step  by  disappointments  and  unexpected  obstacles.  The 
improvement  of  the  domestic  breeds  is  a  slow  process  which  never  reaches  comple- 
tion. We  need  not  only  intelligence  and  theory,  but  a  continuous,  indefatigable 
method  adapted  to  the  country — throwing  now  and  then  a  glance  toward  the  past — 
if  we  want  to  be  able  to  say  we  progress. 

ARGENTINE    RESOURCES   SHOWN    BY    EXPORTS. 

The  importance  of  Argentina  as  a  food  producer  for  other  parts  of 
the  world  across  the  sea  is  yearly  coming  to  he  better  understood,  as 
she  sends  more  wheat,  more  corn,  more  beef,  more  mutton,  and  more 
butter  nearly  every  year  than  the  one  before.  And  the  Argentines  and 
those  from  other  lands  who  have  been  attracted  to  Argentina  b}-  the 
richness  of  the  country  and  its  boundless  possibilities  are  getting  a 
better  understanding  of  their  opportunities  and  how  to  make  the  best 
use  of  them.  For  the  most  part,  however,  the  native  Argentine,  the 
descendant  of  the  older  families,  prefers  to  confine  his  efforts  to  stock 
raising,  agriculture,  and  polities,  leaving  the  development  of  trade, 
of  industries,  and  most  commercial  pursuits  to  foreigners.  Naturally, 
the  foreigners'  profits  in  developing  Argentine  resources  have  been 
large.  The  freezing  companies  that  send  frozen  beef  and  mutton  to 
England,  South  Africa,  and  other  markets  have  been  earning  40 
per  cent  dividends.  There  is  a  large  margin  in  the  butter  business. 
Fortunes  have  been  made  in  grain.  But  these  conditions  are  not 
alwa^'s  to  prevail,  and,  indeed,  are  changing  already.  There  is  a  new 
generation  in  which  there  is  much  new  blood,  and  these  young  men 
are  ambitious  to  do  more  than  raise  stock  and  get  into  the  provincial 
or  national  legislative  bodies  or  hold  some  other  official  post. 

Last  3'ear  the  Argentine  energy  in  hunting  markets  was  shown  by 
the  manner  in  which  they  went  after  the  South  African  market.  The 
Argentine  department  of  agriculture  rented  a  big  transport  from  the 
navy  department  and  sent  several  experimental  cargoes  to  South 
Africa.  They  took  mules,  steers,  horses,  butter,  alfalfa,  wheat,  oats, 
sheep,  and  many  other  things  in  small  parcels  on  the  owners'  private 
account.  It  was  all  sold  to  good  advantage,  and  convinced  both  ship- 
owners and  producers  that  the  market  was  worth  working  for.  Now 
there  are  three  regular  shipping  lines,  with  frequent  sailings,  and  a 
good  trade  has  sprung  up.  Some  of  the  trade  has  not  turned  out  so 
well  as  was  hoped,  but  the  experimental  cargoes,  sent  at  the  lowest 
possible  cost  to  shippers,  have  built  up  a  trade  that  would  not  have 
been  developed  otherwise,  and  which  is  worth  manj-^  thousands  of 
dollars  every  month  to  the  Argentine  producers  of  food  products, 
alfalfa,  etc. 


ANIMAL    INDUSTRY    OF    ARGENTINA.  69 

The  British  ports  were  closed  to  Argentine  live  stock  during  all  the 
3'ear  1902,  and  also  in  1901,  owing  to  the  foot-and-mouth  disease 
which  was  so  severe  in  the  jxar  1900.  This  had  been  the  chief  market 
for  Argentine  steers,  wethers,  and  lambs.  Notwithstanding  this,  the 
exports  of  live  animals  during  1902  amounted  to  $5,017,090  gold,  an 
increase  of  $2,532,9-11  over  1901.  Of  this  increase,  $1,083,800  was  for 
mules,  most  of  which  went  to  South  Africa.  That  was  only  a  tem- 
porary business,  for  the  trade  is  now  back  to  its  normal  condition- 
In  1899  Argentina  exported  312,150  steers,  nearly  all  to  England, 
Last  year  she  sent  118,303  to  various  places,  and  this  was  nearly  all 
new  business,  worked  up  in  the  last  two  3'ears.  It  was  880  fewer  than 
were  exported  in  1901,  but  the  prices  realized  amounted  to  $868,073 
more  in  1902.  These  cattle  went  to  Spain,  Portugal,  South  Africa, 
and  Brazil.  They  were  not  equal  to  the  best  type  of  export  steer 
that  Argentina  sent  to  England  this  year,  but  the  business  made  better 
prices  for  a  fair  type  of  steer. 

With  the  British  ports  open  to  the  steers  and  sheep  of  Argentina, 
it  is  the  ambition  of  ever}-  producer  of  steers  and  mutton  sheep  to 
raise  animals  that  are  fit  to  meet  the  demands  of  the  export  market. 
If  he  has  rather  l)ad  luck  at  first  in  trj-ing  to  compete  with  the  United 
States,  it  only  drives  him  to  the  improvement  of  his  product  to  meet 
the  conditions  of  the  market  in  which  the  best  prices  prevail.  That 
he  will  do  this  there  is  not  the  least  doubt,  for  he  has  all  the  facilities 
for  doing  it.  With  cheap  land,  cheap  labor,  and  a  climate  so  favora- 
ble for  the  production  of  corn  and  other  feed,  and  so  kind  to  stock 
that  the}'  need  no  shelter  the  3'ear  around  and  are  almost  sure  of  abun- 
dant green  feed  during  every  month  in  the  yesLV.  it  will  probably  not 
be  long  before  as  good  steers  will  be  produced  there  as  can  be  pro- 
duced an3'where. 

Gains  are  shown  in  the  exports  in  nearly  all  important  lines  except 
wheat,  flour,  and  wool.  This  year  the  corn  crop  will  be  almost  double 
that  of  last  3'ear,  and  all  the  estimates  of  exports  double  the  amount 
of  last  3'ear,  or  nearl}'  so.  The  wheat  crop  also  will  be  very  much 
heavier,  probably  double,  as  the  crop  of  1902  was  far  below  the  aver- 
age. Wool  exports  this  year  are,  up  to  the  1st  of  May.  less  than  the 
same  period  last  3'ear,  but  the  prices  are  much  better.  The  year,  in 
short,  io  a  most  prosperous  one  for  the  Republic.  Crops  generally 
have  been  good  and  prices  are  satisfactory.  So  are  the  prices  for 
cattle  and  sheep,  and  the  demand  is  putting  the  prices  up  a  little  more 
ever}'  week  for  good  fat  wethers,  till  now  they  are  worth  $12  paper 
for  the  best. 

The  Argentine  Government  collected  $3,210,307  gold  in  export  dues 
in  1902,  of  which  all  but  $29,850  was  on  animal  products.  The  follow- 
ing export  products  are  taxed  4  per  cent  on  their  gold  valuation  as 
fixed  by  the  current  market  prices:  AVool,  all  kinds  of  hides  and  skins, 


70 


BUREAU    OK    ANIMAL    INDUSTRY. 


horns,  horsehair,  tallow,  anmial  and  tish  oil,  bone  ash,  hide  elippinj^s, 
bones,  hoofs,  ostrich  plumes.  Old  iron  pays  5  per  cent,  and  all  other 
products  are  free. 


PRINCIPAL    EXPORTa    FOR    FIVE   YEARS. 


The  following  table  shows  the  principal  exports  of  animals  and  ani- 
mal products  from  Argentina  for  the  past  five  years.  (Where  tons  are 
given  metric  tons  of  2,204  pounds  are  understood.) 

Exportation  of  principal  prodwcta  during  the  last  five  years. 


Animals  and  animal  products. 


Steers number. . 

Wethers do 

Horses do 

Mules do 

Frozen  beef tons.. 

Frozen  mutton do 

Unwashed  sheepskins do 

Salted  cowhides do 

Dry  cowhides do 

Salted  horsehides do 

Dry  horsehides do 

Wool do 

Jerked  beef  (tasajo) do 

Various  frozen  meats do 

Canned  beef do 

Tallow do.  ^. . 

Butter pounds. . 


1898. 


359, 296 

577, 813 

14,360 

10,205 

5,867 

59,834 

42,245 

29,370 

23, 174 

160,980 

180, 827 

221,280 

22,242 

971 

1,023 

29,341 

2, 042, 562 


1899. 


312, 150 

543, 458 

7, 259 

7,740 

9,079 

56,627 

41, 697 

28, 528 

23, 956 

134,774 

130,057 

237,111 

19,164 

922 

1,816 

24,150 

2, 600, 317 


1900. 


150, 150 

198, 102 

32,  %9 

13, 179 

24,590 

56, 412 

37, 593 

26, 423 

24, 866 

121,285 

190,241 

101,113 

16, 449 

1,089 

1,405 

24, 837 

2, 327, 506 


IflOl. 


119, 189 

25, 746 

9,761 

20, 468 

44,904 

63, 013 

41,120 

28, 158 

26,647 

136,901 

181,027 

228,358 

24,296 

1,410 

947 

33,368 

3, 329, 338 


1902. 


118,303 

122, 501 

16,008 

54,928 

70,018 

80,073 

41,405 

36,343 

26, 558 

135,685 

282, 138 

197, 926 

22,304 

2,520 

1,644 

49, 095 

9, 093, 975 


EXPORTS    IN    DETAIL. 


The  animal  exports  of  the  Argentine  Republic  for  the  calendar  yeor 
1902,  in  quantity  and  value,  compared  with  the  previous  year,  ended 
December  31, 1901,  are  given  herewith.  All  measurements  have  been 
reduced  to  those  of  the  United  States  except  tons,  where  the  metric 
measurement  has  been  left  unchanged.  The  valuations  are  in  Argen- 
tine gold,  the  dollar  of  which  is  worth  96.5  cents  United  States  money. 

Exports  of  animals  and  animal  jnoducts  during  calendar  year  1902  contpared  tviih  1901. 


Animals  and  animal  products. 


Quantities. 


Number  or 
quantity 
in  1902. 


More  ( + ) 

orless(— ) 

than  in 

1901. 


Values. 


Value  in 
190fi. 


More  (  +  ) 

or  less  (— ) 

than  in 

1901. 


Asses number. . 

Cattle do — 

Goats do 

Horses do — 

Mules do 

Sheep do 

Hogs do — 


14,223 

118,303 

2 

16,008 

54,928 

122,501 

532 


+  5,430 
886 
1 
+  6,247 
+  34,460 
+  96,755 
+        282 


$284,460 

2,848,445 

10 

460,035 

1,647,840 

368,656 

8,250 


+  8108,600 
+     868,073 


+  227,560 
+  1,033,800 
+  290,408 
+        4,500 


ANIMAL    INDUSTRY    OF    ARGENTINA. 


71 


Exports  of  animals  and  animal  products  during  calendar  year  1902  compared  with  1901- 

Continued. 


Animals  and  animal  products. 


Quantities. 


Values. 


Number  or  „^^?|lW 


Value  in 
1902. 


More(+) 

or  less  (— ) 

than  in 

1901. 


Horns tons. . 

Frozen  beef do — 

Frozen  mutton do 

Horse  hair do — 

Sheepskins do — 

Salted  cowhides do — 

Dry  cowhides do 

Wool do 

Jerked  meat  (ta.sajo) do 

Various  frozen  meats do 

Salted  horsehides number. . 

Dry  horsehides do — 

Goatskins pounds. . 

Kid  skins do 

Pickled  tongues do 

Salted  tongues do 

Pressed  tallow do 

Canned  beef tons. . 

Butter do 

Rendered  fat  and  tallow do 

Sole  leather number. . 

Tanned  cowhides do 

Tanned  sheepskins dozen. . 

Other  tanned  skins I 

Extract  of  beef pounds . . 

Cheese do.'...i 

Casein do 

Animal  oil do 

Concentrated  soup do 

Bone  ash tons. . 

Clippings  of  hides do 

Guano do 

Bones do 

Hoofs do 

Dried  blood do 

Salted  tripe,  sau.sage  casings,  etc do 

Dried  tripe,  sau.sage  casings,  etc {xjunds. . 

Burned  bones do 

Grease  scraps do 

Ostrich  feathers do 

Eggs dozens. . 

Bristles pounds. . 

Chicken  feathers do 


2,475 

70, 018 

80,073 

2,651 

41, 405 

35,a43 

26,558 

197, 936 

22,304 

2,520 

135,685 

282, 1.38 

3, 025, 185 

1,075,494 

1,221,093 

23, 289 

113,903 

1,644 

4, 125 

49,095 

16,633 

134 

140, 914 


653, 329 

14. 374 

207, 395 

381,859 

86, 480 

13, 709 

1,803 

1,455 

35,059 

1,093 

925 

2,189 

286,353 


2,388,356 

103,804 

4,798 

23, 713 

29,112 


+  671 
+  25,114 
+  17,060 
+  88 

+  285 
+     7.185 

-  89 

-  30,422 

-  1,992 
+     1, 110 

-  1,216 
+101,111 
+  116,050 

-  43,318 
-274,887 

-  3,600 
+  101,467 
+  697 
+  2, 615 
+  15,727 
+  14,662 

-  286 
+140,914 


+  175,382 
+  11.400 
+207, 395 
+  54,436 
-  32,692 
+  9,332 
+  430 
+  639 
+  7,557 
+        344 


+  282 
+106, 751 
-50,000 
-127,082 
-  28,792 
+  4, 798 
+  23,713 
+     6. 845 


$197, 988 

7,001,833 

6,405,804 

1,064,646 

8,487,078 

6,384,955 

8, 822, 302 

45,810,749 

2,647,450 

163, 820 

406, 794 

460,906 

823,328 

292, 704 

166, 164 

1,690 

3,617 

164,404 

1,277,969 

6,209,038 

83,165 

268 

563,656 

417 

592,696 

1,304 

21, 839 

20.412 

11,769 

94, 865 

41,637 

36, 3^5 

341,732 

13,600 

46, 271 

109,457 

5.190 


54,106 

86. 122 

480 

430 

660 


+  842,660 
+2,511,386 
+1,364,781 
+  59,  %9 
+1,147,266 
+1,103,199 

-  26, 136 
+1,144,266 

-  232,005 
+  72, 172 
+  15,968 
+  167,501 
+      31,583 

-  11, 790 

-  37, 409 

-  262 
+  3,222 
+  69, 687 
+1, 100, 424 
+2, 306, 323 


+ 


73, 215 

572 

563, 656 

205, 221 

159, 106 

1,034 

21,839 

5,182 

2,448 

69, 226 

2,167 

14, 374 

24,019 

4,303 

3,  S49 

14, 101 

1,937 

5,000 

2,883 

35,000 

480 

430 

140 


DISTRIBrTIOX   OF    EXI'ORTS. 


The  following  table  shows  the  distribution  of  the  principal  Argen- 
tine exports  in  1902,  a-s'  reported  b}'  the  national  statistical  bureau. 
Giving  only  certain  countries,  the  destination  of  a  large  part  of  certain 
articles  is  lo.st  sight  of.     This  is  noticeable  in  the  shipments  of  horses, 


72 


BUREAU    OF    ANIMAL    INDUSTRY. 


cattle,  and  sheep,  most  of  which  went  to  South  Africa.  Man}'  ships 
sail  from  Argentine  ports  bound  for  St.  Vincent  '*for  orders,"  and 
they  do  not  know  until  they  reach  that  port  where  the\'  will  be  ordered 
to  take  their  carj^o.  The  shipper  has  the  two  or  three  weeks  that  the 
ship  requires  to  make  the  voyage  to  this  point  to  determine  where  he 
will  sell  the  cargo.  Hence  the  Argentine  port  records  never  show 
where  these  cargoes  were  sold,  but  they  are  all  for  European  or  English 
ports. 

Exports  of  animals  and  animal  products,  1902,  and  their  destination. 


Country  of  import. 

Cattle. 

Horses. 

Sheep. 

Horse-        Frozen 
hides.          beef. 

■ 

Frozen 
mutton. 

Jerked 

beef       Wool, 
(tasajo). 

Belgium 

Number. 

Number. 

44 

1,205 

191 

59 

Number. 

Number. 

700 

100 

1,000 

313,707 

19 

849 

100 

Metric 
tans. 

Metric 
tonf. 

Metnc     Metric 
tons.    !    tuns. 

239       22. 342 

Brazil 28,923 

3,550 
500 

3 

13,841                6 

191  I    86,007 

12       49,750 

Germany             .                      . 

Italy..... 

4 

3        1,905 

68    

451       11,216 

366       12,420 

2,355  ]          151 

4,778       13,687 

453 

Spain ^ 

1,124 

141 
383 

1,452 

54,402 

70, 371 

United  States 

47,915 
5,601 
47,832 

47,884 

39,328 

941 

1,625             335 

12,352       116,480 

4  :            184 

Other  de.stinations 

For  orders 

15, 616 

9,699 

Total 

118,303 

16,008  1     122.501 

417,823 

70,018 

80,073 

22,304  1  197,936 

Country  of  import. 


Bones. 


Salted 
cow- 
hides. 


i  Dry  cow- 
i    hides.  • 


Sheep- 
skins. 


Kid  and 
goat  skins. 


Ostrich  I  Horse- 
feathers,     hair. 


Tallow. 


Belgium 

Brazil 

France 

Germany 

Italy 

Spain 

United  Kingdom  . . 

United  States 

Uruguay  

other  destinations. 
For  orders 


Metric 
tons. 

1,474 


Metric 
tons. 

5,249 


956 
3,388 
1,426 

121 
3,304 
14,009 

983 
5,305 
4.093 


2, 127 

13, 308  J 

167  I 

316 

2,850 

4,086 

1,725 

4,552 

%3 


Metric 
tons. 

697 
4 

450 
1,021 
2,523 
2,915 

227 
11,990 
2,945 
3,786 


Metric 
tons. 

1,003 

54 

23,829 

2,299 

2,693 
16 

3,962 
20 
519 

7,010 


Pounds. 
40,683 


1,426,050 


3,527 
20, 192 

1,043 
1,374,43() 

3,005 
1, 231, 743 


Pounds. 

18,743 

441 

33,766 

1,429 

908 

8,331 


Metric 
tons. 

643 


51 
167 
429 


24,339 
2,498  I 
13,349  i 


424 
397 
452 


Metric 
tons. 

1,285 

2,067 

3,709 

1,828 

6,024 

4,%1 

26,140 

254 

189 

2,638 


Total 35,059 


35,343  I      26,558 


41,405 


4, 100, 679 


103,804  1      2,651 


49,095 


o 


001  134  923 


(Continued  from  second  page  of  cover.) 


Mr.  Wm.  E.  Hill,  2220  E.  Fourth  st.,  Sta.  B,  Los 

Angeles.  Cul. 
Dr.  A.  A.  Hokombe,  Aurora,  111. 
Dr.  Julius  Hudson,  care  Centnil  Stock  Yards  Co., 

Jersey  City,  N.  J. 
Dr.  F.  W.  Huntington,  G.  T.  R.  R.  Building,  Port- 
land, Me. 
Mr.  James  Irwin,  Auburn,  111. 
Dr.  Charles  Keane,  care  Cudahy  Packing  Co.,  I>os 

Angeles,  Cal. 
Dr.  J.  S.   Kelly,   care  Blomer   &  Michael    Co., 

Quincv,  HI. 
Dr.  F.  D"  Ketehuni,  South  St.  Paul,  Minn. 
Dr.  W.  B.  Lincoln,  Union  Stock  Yards,  Nashville, 

Tenn. 
Dr.  C.  Loveberry,  room  402  Custom-House  (new), 

Portland,  Oreg. 
Dr.  H.  I).  Mayne,  Malone,  N.  Y. 
Dr.  J.  Miller,  care  John  Morrell  &  Co.,  Ottumwa, 

Iowa. 
Dr.  J.  C.  Milnes,  care  The  Rath  Packing,  Co., 

Waterloo,  Iowa. 
Dr.  C.  L.  Morin,  St.  Albans,  Vt. 
Dr.  A.  B.  Morse,  cak  The  Agar  Packing  Co.,  Des 

Moines,  Iowa. 
Dr.  W.  J.  Murphy,  care  Springfield  Provision  Co., 

Brightwood,  Mass. 
Dr.  W.  N.  Neil,  care  John  Cudahy  Co.,  WichifA, 

Dr.  H.  b.  Paxson,  care  Swift  &  Co.,  Fort  Worth, 

Texas. 
Dr,  F.  M.  I'erry,  Fort  Fairfield,  Me. 


Dr.  G.  W.  Pope,  Animal  Quarantine  Station, 
Athenia,  N.  J. 

Dr.  H.  T.  Potter,  Calais,  Me. 

Dr.  A.  G.  G.  Richardson,  ca,re  Post-Office  Build- 
ing, Kansa.s  City,  Kans. 

Dr.  W.  H.  Rose.  18  Broadway,  New  York,  N.  Y. 

Dr.  F.  L.  Ru.ssell,  Orono,  Me. 

Dr.  J.  F.  Ryder,  care  U.  S.  consul,  Liverpool,  Eng- 
land. 

Dr.  E..P.  Schaftter,  care  Cleveland  Provi.sion  Co., 
Cleveland,  Ohio. 

Dr.  C.  A.  Schaufler,  lat  South  Second  st.,  Phi:a- 
delphia.  Pa. 

Dr.  T.  A.  Shipley,  care  T.  M.  Sinclair  &  Co.,  Ltd., 
Cedar  Rapids,  Iowa. 

Dr.  N.  C.  Sorenson,  care  Kingan  &  Co.,  Indian- 
apolis, Ind. 

Dr.  R.  P.  Steddom,  room  16  Deaderiek  Building, 
Kuoxville,  Tenn. 

Dr.  William  Thompson,  Exchange  Building, 
Sioux  City,  Iowa. 

Mr.  Wm.  H.  Wade,  Animal  Quarantine  Station, 
Halethorp,  Md. 

Dr.  H.  N.  Waller,  109  West  42d  St.,  New  York,  N.  Y. 

Dr.  G.  W.  Ward,  Newport,  Vt. 

Dr.  B.  P.  Wende.  Live  Stock  Exchange  Building, 
East  Buffalo,  N.  Y. 

Dr.  W.  H.  Wray,  21  Railway  Approach,  London 
Bridge  S.E.,  London,  England. 

Dr.  C.  H,  Zink,  care  Western  Packing  Co.,  Denver, 
Colo. 


